Setting up a VPN for Firestick opens up a new world of entertainment that Firestick alone can’t access, despite its superb streaming capabilities. This is because most streaming services – even the best free movie streaming sites – use geo-blocks to determine where certain content is viewed, and Amazon even hides certain apps depending on where you are.
With the right VPN, you can access all possible content. For example, if you are in the US, you can switch to the UK to watch good-old Friends on Netflix or Access BBC iPlayer from wherever you are.
However, not all VPNs are suitable for streaming on Firestick as some either have poor speeds, offer poorly designed apps, or are simply blocked by the various streaming services. In this guide, we’ll take you through everything you need to know about installing and using the best VPN for Firestick: ExpressVPN.
But first things first! Let’s tackle the most attractive choice and frequent mistake that many Firestick users make: going for a free VPN subscription.
Free VPNs are pretty tempting as they promise to let you enjoy the benefits of a VPN without having to spend a penny. However, as the old adage goes, “There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch” (TANSTAAFL).
Free VPNs are out there to make a profit like any other product, and in some cases, you may end up losing more than you gain. Here are a few reasons why you should avoid using a free VPN for Firestick.
Free VPNs do not have the capacity to play cat and mouse like the top VPNs and streaming services play. To stay unblocked, these VPNs have to refresh their IP addresses every now and then.
Apart from that, free VPNs only have a few servers with a few IP addresses but many users. This means that streaming services easily profile them, so you won’t have luck even with a new free VPN.
Almost all free VPNs have a premium tier that they entice users to upgrade to, and they do so by limiting bandwidth, servers, or speed. For example, the Hotspot Shield free plan is super-fast, but it only gives you 500 Mb a month, which is not enough to stream anything. ProtonVPN, on the other hand, doesn’t limit your bandwidth, but it caps your speeds such that you can’t stream in HD or without buffering.
VPNs that mainly operate on their free tiers also have limited servers, slow speeds due to congestion, and all streaming services block them.
Free VPNs do not run as a charity, and they have to pay their bills and make a profit somehow. The popular techniques of doing this are adverts and enticing users to upgrade to the premium tiers. However, some free VPNs go as far as selling your data. This compromises the whole idea of privacy, and you should avoid such VPNs at all costs!
Choosing the best VPN for Firestick requires careful analysis and comparison. Luckily for you, that is our forte – providing the most reliable and thorough VPN reviews to help users determine the one that best suits their needs, from bypassing the Great Firewall of China to streaming live sports. Throughout the whole process, we engaged experienced industry experts to get their opinions of the performance of different VPNs in various areas that actually matter.
ExpressVPN is the leader in the VPN industry and the best VPN for Firestick. The VPN service is based in the British Virgin Islands, which means it’s away from the privacy-invasive laws of the UK and the US. To complement this, ExpressVPN keeps zero logs and uses RAM-disk servers. The VPN then tops it all with public audits, and the first two have all confirmed it as a complete zero-log service.
This means that when you use ExpressVPN, you will be assured of the privacy of your streaming activities. However, the VPN doesn’t stop there as it optimizes its servers to work with Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney Plus, HBO Now, DAZN, and lots of other streaming services. In the case of Netflix, you can access 15+ libraries.
If you stream on a device that doesn’t support a VPN, such as a gaming console or a Smart TV, ExpressVPN also comes with a Smart DNS that can unblock all US-based streaming services. In case of any trouble with the VPN or Smart DNS, you can reach out via the live chat support system that operates 24/7. You can secure up to 5 devices with a single subscription, and the VPN comes with a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee.
After creating your ExpressVPN account, you can proceed and install the VPN on Firestick. The app is readily available on the Amazon Store, so the process is quite straightforward.
Sign In & Connect to a Server
Once the installation process is complete, the download button will change to Open. You can click it to open the app or get it under the apps section.
After starting the app:
You can also choose your own server by clicking the highlighted server.
To customize your connection, head to settings by clicking the hamburger menu button on the top left side then clicking Settings. This will let you enable auto-connection, select a protocol, set up split tunneling, and set app and website shortcuts.
Once you are satisfied with your settings, you can connect to a server and stay protected with ExpressVPN!
NordVPN is known for its wide array of features, and it is another of the best VPNs for Firestick. Just like ExpressVPN, the VPN is registered offshore in Panama. It also keeps a strict zero-log policy and uses RAM-disk servers. The logging policy has been audited and verified by PWC, so all your data will be protected.
As for streaming, NordVPN uses Smart Play technology which combines the power of a VPN with that of a SmartDNS. The result is that all NordVPN servers support streaming, so you can just connect to the nearest server. The VPN provides 15+ Netflix libraries, which makes it one of the best VPNs for streaming. You can also access pretty much any other streaming service.
NordVPN also comes with lots of features that include Smart DNS, obfuscation, split tunneling, ad-blocker, kill switch, Onion over Tor, and leak protection. The VPN allows up to 5 simultaneous connections and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. VPNcheck.org has written a comprehensive review of NordVPN with specific reviews by experts.
NordVPN Review 2024 – Fast & Safe But Is it Worth The Money?
You can install NordVPN from the Amazon Store in a few steps.
Sign In & Connect to a Server
Once the installation process is complete, the download button will change to Open. You can click it to open the app or get it under the apps section.
After starting the app:
You can also choose your own server by scrolling through the list of countries.
To customize your connection, head to Settings by scrolling to the bottom of the app page.
You’ll then get options for turning on CyberSec and changing the protocol.
Once you are satisfied with the settings, you can then click on your desired server to connect.
Surfshark VPN goes for as little as $2.21, and it provides features that can compete with any top VPN. These include Smart DNS, kill switch, split tunneling, CleanWeb (blocks ads, trackers, malware, and phishing attempts), kill switch, obfuscation, Private DNS, and leak protection.
In terms of privacy, Surfshark is quite similar to ExpressVPN and NordVPN. The VPN is based offshore (in the BVI), keeps a strict zero-logs policy, uses 100% RAM-only servers, and has been audited by Leviathan Security to prove their infrastructure is secure.
Surfshark is also a fantastic streaming VPN as it provides access to 18 Netflix catalogs. These include the US, UK, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and India. You can also unblock Disney+, HBO Now, Hulu, DAZN, iPlayer, and lots of other streaming services.
Surfshark has a Firestick app, and the VPN can also be installed on Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. It allows unlimited simultaneous connections and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
You can install Surfshark VPN from the Amazon Store in a few steps.
Sign In & Connect to a Server
Once the installation process is complete, the download button will change to Open. You can click it to open the app or get it under the apps section.
After starting it:
You can also choose your own server by scrolling through the server list on the same screen.
To customize your connection, head to settings by clicking the gear button on the lower left side of the screen. This will give you several options, including protocol selection.
You can also enable a few features by clicking the Features button on the left menu panel. This will let you activate CleanWeb and Whitelister (split tunneling).
Once you are satisfied with your settings, you can connect to a server and stay protected with Surfshark VPN!
CyberGhost has improved greatly since its vulnerability incident in 2018, and it is now an all-around VPN. The VPN gets lots of things right, starting with streaming. CyberGhost makes it easy to unblock streaming services by providing dedicated streaming servers on all its apps. These servers are labeled according to countries and the specific streaming service that they unblock, which effectively eliminates the guesswork.
The VPN tops that up with a SmartDNS service that, unlike other services, also unblocks other countries. You can configure the DNS to access streaming services in the US, UK, Japan, and the Netherlands.Â
Apart from streaming, CyberGhost provides excellent privacy and security. The VPN is registered in Romania, a country that abolished all data retention laws. It also keeps zero logs of all user activities and uses secure protocols such as WireGuard and OpenVPN. If you’d like even more privacy, CyberGhost runs “No Spy” servers which it builds and operates without any third-party intervention. The servers are part of an impressive network that consists of 7500+ VPN servers located in 91 countries.
CyberGhost comes at just $2.25 a month, and it comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee.
You can install CyberGhost from the Amazon Store in a few steps.
Sign In & Connect to a Server
Once the installation process is complete, the download button will change to Open. You can click it to open the app or get it under the apps section.
After starting the app:
You can also choose your own server by clicking the highlighted server.
To customize your connection, head to settings by clicking the cog button on the top right side of the main screen. This will give you options such as protocol selection, content blocker, and split tunneling.
Once you are satisfied with your settings, you can connect to a server and enjoy streaming with CyberGhost!
IPVanish has always been mentioned among the top VPNs, and it was among the first VPNs to publish an app for Firestick. The VPN is known for being one of only about three VPNs that own and control their entire server network, ensuring that the network is always fast, stable, and reliable. The network consists of 1,900+ VPN servers spread across 75+ locations.
Unlike the first four VPNs, IPVanish is based in the US. However, the VPN counters this by promising to keep zero connection and usage logs. It is popular among torrenting fans as it has zero restrictions on its servers, and it also provides a SOCKS5 proxy for use on desktops.
IPVanish also works with Netflix. You can access the US library by connecting to the VPN’s US servers. The VPN doesn’t have any specialized servers, but most of them work with Netflix. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to access any other streaming services.
IPVanish comes at a fair price accompanied by a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can install the VPN on multiple devices and connect up to 10 simultaneous devices. If you want to know more IPVanish features, we’ve put together a detailed analysis of this VPN service.
IPVanish Review 2024Â – You Could Have Been a Contender!
You can install IPVanish from the Amazon Store in a few steps.
Sign In & Connect to a Server
Once the installation process is complete, the download button will change to Open. You can click it to open the app or get it under the apps section.
After starting it:
You can also choose your own server by clicking Country then City (optional).
To customize your connection, head to settings by clicking the gear button on the top right side. You’ll get options such as split tunneling, scramble, and protocol selection.
Once you are satisfied with your settings, you can connect to a server and start streaming.
Picking the best VPN for a particular task is never easy due to the number of choices in the market. However, we regularly test and review all top VPNs, making it easy to select the best VPNs depending on their features and performance.Â
During our analysis, ExpressVPN came out on top due to three important factors.
We performed several speed tests when using a modest 20 Mbps fiber line and connected to the same country using all our top 5 VPNs.
Here’s the speed test without using a VPN. It was meant to act as the base test.
Next, we connected ExpressVPN and performed several tests. Here’s an average of the speeds we got.
Below are the speeds we got from the other VPNs when connected to the same location.
As you can see, ExpressVPN is a little faster, but all the VPNs on our list provide excellent speeds. However, ExpressVPN managed to outdo them by a distance in terms of stability as the VPN’s speeds remain fairly constant from region to region.
ExpressVPN outperforms almost every other VPN when it comes to the streaming services it can unblock. You will be able to access Netflix (15+ libraries), Disney+, Hulu, HBO Now, iPlayer, ITV, ZDF, TF1, Hotstar, 9Now, Mitele, Paramount+, Peacock, DAZN, and many more.
ExpressVPN apps are some of the best you’ll come across on all platforms. The Firestick app, in particular, is sleek and easy to use. It provides lots of features that are suitable for streaming, such as server shortcuts, split tunneling, apps and website shortcuts (upon connection), protocol selection, and auto-connection.
Using a VPN helps improve your home entertainment in various ways.
Netflix is available in 180+ countries, but the streaming service curates a library for each country in which it is available. This means that titles differ from country to country, and some of these countries have just about a tenth of other countries. The US library provides the most titles, but we have also seen it losing many titles to competitors while the titles remain available in other Netflix regions. Case in point? Cult comedy hits The Office and Friends, which left for Peacock and HBO Now, respectively.
This means that regardless of your location, you can unlock more Netflix titles and make the most out of your subscription. For example, you can switch to Netflix Canada to watch Doctor Strange (the only location where the title is available). If you are in the US or Europe, you can switch to Australia to watch recent leavers, The Bing Bang Theory, HIMY, and Brooklyn 999.
Today, almost every other streaming service has placed geo-restrictions to ensure that only users within a certain region can access the content. For example, BBC iPlayer and ITV are only available in the UK, HBO Now and Hulu are only available in the US (and Japan for the latter), ZDF is only available in Germany, and Mitele is only available in Spain.
If you are outside these countries, you’ll need to use a VPN to access the desired service. However, it’s important to note that the streaming services also block VPNs, so you will need to use one that is not blocked. The five best VPNs for Firestick we’ll look at will help you unblock any streaming service you need.
While we do not promote infringement of copyrights, sometimes it’s hard to draw a line between what’s legal and what’s not, especially if you use Kodi or torrents. This is because these services rely on content provided by third parties, and some of it is legal, but some is not. As a result of the latter, many content streamers have ended up with DMCA notices or cease and desist letters.
A VPN helps avoid this by encrypting your activities such that your ISP can’t tell what you are accessing over the internet. The VPN also changes your IP address to ensure copyright trolls on the other side can’t see your real IP and contact you through your ISP. In other words, everything you do on the internet when connected to one of the best VPNs for Firestick will remain anonymous.
We have all used public Wi-Fi hotspots as the convenience helps us check our emails, catch up on social media, or even work remotely. However, most of us don’t realize that these hotspots are a haven for hackers, and they are often unsecured. When connected to such a hotspot, you are vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, and hackers can snoop on your activities, steal your personal information, and even plant malware to carry out even more attacks. Even worse, the connection you use may be an evil twin that gives them access to everything on your device.
If you use public hotspots, you need to always ensure that you are connected to a VPN. In such a case, all your traffic will be encrypted such that nobody can snoop on you. The VPN will also establish a private tunnel where hackers can’t have access to your device even when connected to an illegitimate network.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) worldwide throttle internet connections in the name of “fair use.” This can happen when you are using a lot of bandwidth for a long period of time, using torrents, or even because it’s “peak hour.” Whatever the reason, this is highly frustrating as it leads to slow downloads and low-quality streams or buffering.
If your connection seems slower than usual and you have verified that the issue is not on your side, then your ISP is most likely throttling your connection. In such a case, you will need to use a VPN to hide everything you are doing from them. If they can’t know what you are doing, they won’t throttle your internet connection.
Choosing the best VPN for streaming requires running through a checklist of the most critical factors that can enhance the entertainment you get from Firestick without any major issues. For example, the VPN needs to have a Firestick app fully compatible with the Firestick remote.
We carefully analyzed the top 5 VPNs for Firestick and ExpressVPN came out on top. Here are the factors you need to consider before choosing a VPN, why you need to, and how ExpressVPN managed to come out on top.
Streaming requires good speeds to ensure that the content you stream is in the desired quality and there’s no buffering. The encryption and new server introduced by a VPN work against this, but it all depends on the VPN you choose.
ExpressVPN only has a negligible impact on speed. This is due to the VPN’s huge server network, high-bandwidth servers, and configuration options such as multiple protocols. Among the protocols is the VPN’s proprietary Lightway protocol aimed at optimizing speed while still providing excellent security. The protocol uses AES-256 or ChaCha20 for encryption, but the latter is selected in lower-end devices, which should include Firestick. This means your streaming speed will remain high despite the added encryption.
Almost every other streaming service blocks VPNs today as they are aware that people use them to circumvent geo-restrictions. However, the best VPNs for Firestick always ensure that they stay ahead by refreshing their IP address ranges and re-routing traffic using Smart DNS on their servers.
If you use Netflix, you might also want to ensure that your VPN provides more than just Netflix US. ExpressVPN offers 10+ libraries, including Netflix Canada, UK, Netherlands, Japan, Germany, and India. The VPN can also unblock other streaming services such as Disney+, Hulu, HBO Now, Hotstar, iPlayer, ITV, etc., without any issues.
The whole idea behind a VPN was to provide privacy and security, and it is still a core consideration even for streaming. If you use Firestick apps like Kodi or Stremio, it is important that you go for a VPN that doesn’t keep any logs so as not to receive a DMCA notice or a cease-and-desist letter from your ISP.
ExpressVPN is a leader in the privacy field as the VPN keeps zero logs, and PwC has audited it twice (with the latest audit being in 2024) and verified the VPN’s logging claims. The VPN is also registered in the BVI, which is an offshore location, and it uses RAM-disk servers to ensure that no information is ever written to the hard disk. Even in case of a seizure, nobody would be able to trace your online activities back to you.
Sometimes you may want to stream on apps like Stremio or Popcorn Time, and these platforms rely on torrent technology to function. This means that the VPN you choose should support torrenting – some VPNs dislike the technology, just like ISPs. Most of those that permit torrenting provide only a couple of torrent servers based in a few countries.
ExpressVPN makes it much easier and faster to use torrent services as the VPN’s entire server network supports torrenting. To stream or download, you’ll only need to connect to a server near you, and since the VPN doesn’t keep any logs, nobody will be able to trace your activities back to you.
The speeds you get when connected to a VPN depend on, among other things, the proximity of the server and the server load. The locations you can connect to also determine the content that you can access.Â
ExpressVPN handles all these factors by providing 3,000+ servers spread across 160 locations in 94 countries. These countries are in every region, so you will find a server near you. The huge server list ensures that you won’t get clogged with other users on the same server, and ExpressVPN even provides a speed test within the app to help you know the best servers according to your location.
Amazon has made it hard to bypass geo-restrictions such that on top of using a VPN, you will also need to change your Amazon Region in some cases. This is because the Amazon Store is set to provide apps depending on a specific country.Â
For example, you can only download BBC iPlayer if you set your location to the UK. The same applies to all other geo-restricted apps.
This means that changing your Firestick region is a handy trick that you will need to download various apps. Here’s how to do it:
You have now changed your Amazon location. However, the changes will only take place after you re-register your Firestick. Follow the procedure below to do so.
Using a VPN on Firestick helps you unleash the full power of your device and take your home entertainment to the next level by accessing new content and streaming anonymously. The guide above tells you everything you should know about selecting and setting up the best VPN for Firestick. Enjoy!
The best VPN for jailbroken Firestick is ExpressVPN. The VPN provides excellent speeds, superb privacy, and unblocks all streaming services.
The cheapest VPN for Firestick is Surfshark VPN. The VPN provides top-class features and performance but comes in at just $2.21 a month and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Free VPNs aren’t suitable for Firestick. These VPNs usually have limits in either bandwidth or speed and are therefore not suitable for streaming.
A VPN for Firestick helps unblock new titles, access geo-restricted sites, unblock ISP bans, evade ISP throttling, and stream anonymously.
The best VPN for Kodi is ExpressVPN, and it’s the best VPN for streaming overall. This is due to its speed, overall performance, and ability to unblock almost every streaming service.
No, you do not need to buy a different VPN for different devices. The above-listed VPNs support a minimum of 5 simultaneous connections, and they provide apps for all major platforms.