Having a VPN for live TV streaming is essential if you’re an American and you travel to different countries regularly, or if you want to watch live TV content that’s not available in the U.S. With a VPN, you can make it seem like you’re located in the United States or almost any other country, which allows you to defeat the geoblocks that many streaming companies have implemented due to local content and copyright regulations.
But which VPN should you choose for live TV streaming? Our top pick is ExpressVPN, but there are some other solid options out there including NordVPN, PureVPN, IPVanish, and VyprVPN. In this guide, we’ll take a look at these picks and help you choose the right VPN for live TV streaming.
Our pick for the best VPN for live TV streaming: ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN was near the top of our list of the best overall VPNs, and it’s our top pick if you’re looking for the best VPN for live TV streaming. It combines blazing fast speeds with tons of international server locations, and more than 3,000 total VPN servers available at any given time.
Why ExpressVPN?
Firstly and most importantly if you want a live TV streaming VPN, ExpressVPN is excellent about spinning up new VPN servers to get around live TV streaming geoblocks when streaming companies block certain IP addresses.
You see, over time, streaming providers can recognize traffic from VPN servers. And when they do, they will block the IP of the VPN server – which means it won’t work for live TV streaming. ExpressVPN is dedicated to staying a step ahead of streaming companies. They constantly are spinning up new servers to ensure that you can always watch live TV without being blocked.
ExpressVPN also has servers in more than 100 countries, with a total of 3000+ server connections available at any time. And unlike some competitors, less than 3% of their servers are virtual. This means that the vast majority of their VPN servers are actually located in the host country, which makes them harder for streaming providers to recognize and block.
Top 5 features of ExpressVPN
Still not sure if ExpressVPN is the right choice as your VPN for live TV streaming? Let’s go into a quick breakdown of some of its top features:
Strong privacy protection – ExpressVPN has strict privacy protection policies and is based in the British Virgin Islands, which have no data retention laws. This, combined with their solid VPN architecture, means that your browsing data and information will be protected from snooping by ISPs, corporations, and government agencies.
Tons of servers in different locations – At any given time, ExpressVPN has more than 3,000 active servers spread across 100+ different countries, even including some in Africa and South America, which are often neglected by VPN companies.
Easy to find a server that works for live TV streaming – As mentioned, ExpressVPN does their best to stay ahead of live TV streaming companies in order to avoid detection of their VPN servers and ensure you can watch your favorite content seamlessly with a VPN.
Solid device support – ExpressVPN supports Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, and can also be installed on your router to provide VPN protection for every device on your home network.
Great internet speeds – All VPNs have an effect on your connection speed and latency, but ExpressVPN uses advanced technology to minimize this effect, and ensure that you can stream high-quality video without lag or buffering.
Best for comprehensive cybersecurity: NordVPN
If you want a VPN for live TV streaming that also has lots of useful cybersecurity tools to lock down your online presence, NordVPN may be just what you need. Not only does it have a rock-solid VPN at a reasonable price, but you can also add tons of other features like secure file storage with NordLocker and a password manager with NordPass.
Reasons to choose NordVPN
NordVPN is great for live TV streaming because of its SmartPlay feature. This feature combines Smart DNS switching and IP cloaking to help get around geo blocks from live TV streaming services in both America and abroad. It supports iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS, and can be installed on your router, too, with the ability to connect up to six devices at once.
Its VPN is pretty solid overall, with over 5,000 locations in 60 countries. It also has some advanced technology that helps protect your information and internet activity, like support for the Tor anonymization network, as well malware and adware blocking.
Combined with their strict no-logs policy, this ensures you stay secure while you use NordVPN. If you’d like to give it a try, you can sign up here to get started with NordVPN, and see if it’s right for you.
Reasons to skip NordVPN
NordVPN has lots of cool features, but lots of them are unnecessary if you just want to get a VPN for live TV streaming. “Power Users” will get a lot more out of NordVPN than everyday people who just need a reliable, fast VPN.
NordVPN is also a little bit more expensive than most of the competition, though you can get a lower price if you commit to a long-term one or two-year subscription. This means it may not be the best choice if you’re on a really tight budget.
Best for lots of connections: IPVanish
IPVanish is a solid option if you want a VPN for live TV streaming, particularly if you stream TV on lots of devices. Its biggest selling point is that IPVanish has no limit on simultaneous connections – you can use your subscription on as many devices at once, and it supports macOS, Windows, iOS, and Android. Most competitors limit you to just five or six connections.
Reasons to choose IPVanish
Along with unlimited connections, IPVanish provides a good selection of VPN servers, with 2,000+ servers in 75+ countries, and more than 40,000 individual IP addresses. This means it’s usually pretty easy to find a VPN server that will work with your favorite live TV streaming provider.
IPVanish also owns 80% of the server hardware it uses, and it doesn’t operate any virtual servers. Along with their secure network architecture and the encryption on each server, this helps protect user data.
If you want a decent all-around VPN that’s usable on unlimited devices and has fast speeds, IPVanish is the way to go. You can click here to sign up and try it out.
Reasons to skip IPVanish
IPVanish is a little more expensive than some of its competitors. Its VPN software is also a bit clunky and showing signs of age, so it would be nice for it to get a little bit of a refresh, and focus more on usability.
IPVanish has also never had a third-party audit of its “no-log” policy. According to the company, they never keep any logs of user activity, but without a third-party audit, it’s not entirely possible to verify this claim.
Best for serious privacy enthusiasts: VyprVPN
VyprVPN is one of the most secure VPNs on the market. It’s great for live TV streaming, but its strict policies and advanced VPN architecture mean it’s ideal for any serious privacy enthusiasts who want to have more control over their data and how it’s gathered and used by corporations. Let’s get into the details!
Reasons to choose VyprVPN
One of VyprVPN’s best features for live TV streaming is its “Server Obfuscation” feature. Essentially, this feature hides the fact that you’re on a VPN from the websites that you’re connected to – which means you’re less likely to get blocked from streaming live TV, and have to switch to a different VPN server. It has hundreds of servers in 70+ countries.
VyprVPN also has one of the best reputations for security and no-log policies of any VPN service. The company keeps absolutely no information about your IP address, browsing activity, or even the start and stop time of your VPN session. This goes beyond what most other VPN no-log policies provide, and their no-log policy has been audited to confirm its legitimacy.
It also has some really cool features, like automatic connection to a VPN whenever you connect to a public WiFi network, a kill switch that turns off your connection if you lose VPN connectivity. VyprVPN lets you connect up to 10 devices at once, and it supports Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. Interested? You can click here to try VyprVPN, and see if it’s right for you.
Reasons to skip VyprVPN
VyprVPN is pretty expensive if you choose their monthly subscription option, but that’s pretty much par for the course for most VPNs, which offer a much better deal with a six-month, year-long, or longer plan.
VyprVPN is also pretty bare-bones when it comes to other features. Unlike some competitors, it doesn’t block ads or malware, or have other special features. If you’re looking for a simple, secure, and highly-advanced VPN, it’s a great choice – but it’s not the right VPN if you want lots of bells and whistles.
Best for tight budgets: PureVPN
PureVPN is a great choice for a live TV streaming VPN if you’re on a tight budget, particularly if you can commit to a long-term subscription. Their 12-month plan is quite cheap, and they occasionally offer specials like a five-year plan for 88% off. Despite its low cost, though, PureVPN is packed with plenty of great VPN features.
Reasons to choose PureVPN
PureVPN has lots of VPN servers that are optimized for streaming TV and video content, so you can usually get a seamless streaming experience. It offers 6500+ VPN servers in 78+ countries around the world. You can use your VPN on up to 10 devices at once, and PureVPN supports Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, as well as most routers.
PureVPN also lets you pick some additional add-on services and bundle them with your VPN for a steep discount. These services include their PureKeep password manager, PurePrivacy digital security service, and PureEncrypt encrypted cloud storage service.
You also get a 31-Day Money-Back Guarantee with PureVPN. If you try it out and you’re not happy with it, you can get a full refund within 31 days of activating your subscription. If you’d like to give PureVPN a try for yourself, just click here to sign up for an account and see if it’s right for you.
Reasons to skip PureVPN
While it offers some seriously value-priced plans, PureVPN isn’t really a great deal unless you choose a subscription term that’s a year or longer. That means it’s not the best choice if you want a VPN and you’d prefer to pay monthly.
PureVPN is also not the most transparent about their no-logs policy. They claim not to keep logs of user activity, but have not released the full results of their third-party audits. There’s no real reason to doubt their policy, but this may still give you pause if you’re very concerned about protecting your activity while using a VPN.
Our takeaway: ExpressVPN is the best VPN for live TV streaming
Overall, we think that ExpressVPN is the best VPN if you want to stream live TV. Whether you’re traveling abroad and you want to watch U.S. sports on Sling TV, or you’re located in the U.S. and you want to unlock international content like the BBC iPlayer, ExpressVPN has the servers, tech, and advanced features you need for a seamless experience.
NordVPN, IPVanish, VyprVPN, and PureVPN are also good choices, but we think that ExpressVPN stands above the rest as the best VPN for live TV streaming. You can sign up for ExpressVPN here, give it a try, and see how you like it. And if you’re not satisfied, you can cancel your subscription within 30 days and get a full refund.
Eric Liston
Eric Liston is a content writer based in Columbus, Ohio. Since 2015, he’s been writing about technology, cord-cutting, and helping everyday people save money. He also has expertise writing about medicine, dentistry, insurance, and a variety of other industries. No matter what he’s writing, his focus is always on simplifying complex concepts and making them approachable for everyone. When he’s not slamming away on his keyboard at his home office, you’ll find Eric reading sci-fi novels, improving his disc golf game (he just hit his first 400-foot drive) and playing video games on his gaming PC.