Best VPNs for US Expats to Watch American TV Abroad in 2024

Are you struggling to watch your favorite TV shows while abroad as a US expat? Catching up on the latest and greatest shows from back home can be a challenge. Most international locations receive US TV shows one season behind or sometimes not at all, and most US TV streaming channels block access to internet users outside the country. But don’t worry; a VPN is the tool you need so you can watch US TV in Europe and beyond.

Think of a VPN (Virtual Private Network) as your secret weapon, a tool that allows you to appear as if browsing the internet from a different country, allowing you to watch your home contact while traveling abroad. As a bonus, they also encrypt your internet traffic, keeping your data safe and your online activities hidden from snoopers.

We’ve done extensive research and thoroughly tested VPNs to find the best ones for American expats abroad. Our comprehensive guide will reveal the top VPN providers that reliably bypass geographic restrictions and unblock US TV shows.

We’ll discuss each of the best VPNs for watching US TV abroad in more detail, but if you’re in a rush, here are our top picks:

Best VPNs for US ex-pats:

1. NordVPN: Our first choice VPN for US expats. Blazing-fast speeds, an excellent security record, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
   TIP In our testing we found that the cheapest NordVPN plan (Standard) works perfectly for US expats.
2. Surfshark: A great budget VPN for expats that doesn’t skimp on speed or security features. Unlocks most US streaming content.
3. IPVanish: Allows unlimited device connections and has fast US servers. Very popular with torrenters and Kodi users. Offers the cheapest month-by-month subscription on this list.
4. ExpressVPN: Secure provider that works with US Netflix and most of the major US TV networks. RAM-only servers in 105 countries and always-on obfuscation.
5. CyberGhost: Low-cost performer that unblocks the majority of US streaming sites. Good security features and fast speeds.
6. PureVPN: The VPN is secure and reliable despite being low-cost. Great for streaming and has a large server network.
7. ProtonVPN: A large choice of US servers that work to access home services from abroad. Excellent security and commitment to user privacy.
8. PrivateVPN: Good for US expats wanting to stream. Strong on security and privacy with effective obfuscation and helpful customer support.

Best VPNs for US ex-pats: Our hands-on review

We’ve compared the most important features of the top VPNs here. Prefer to read the in-depth reviews? Start with NordVPN – our #1 choice for US expats to watch American TV abroad.

Our criteria for finding the best VPNs for watching American TV abroad

To find the best VPNs for American ex-pats to watch US TV abroad, we carried out a series of tests in the following areas:

• Speed: We performed multiple speed tests while connected to each VPN’s US servers.
• Streaming ability: We scored providers on their compatibility with US streaming platforms, as well as their US server availability.
• Value for money: We used eight unique criteria to gauge whether providers offered good value for money.
• Security and privacy: We used 16 different criteria for calculating providers’ security and privacy scores.
• Ease of use: We used 10 individual metrics to evaluate how easy each VPN service was to use.

You can read about our full testing process later in the article. We’ll also take an in-depth look at the data obtained from the tests. First, let’s take a closer look at the providers we recommend.

The best VPNs for US expats

Here is our list of the best VPNs for expats to watch US TV from abroad:

1. NordVPN

Nov 2024

NordVPN is our number one choice VPN for watching US TV abroad. The company has more than 1,970 servers in the United States, and more than 6,700 in its network overall.

This Veteran provider is also a good choice if you go to a country with strict government controls on internet access. This service works well in China, and it can access most US TV networks over the internet. It can also access Netflix’s US library from abroad.

To find out how fast NordVPN’s US servers were, we carried out three-speed tests over the course of a day. For reference, our download speed when not connected to a VPN server was 502.06 Mbps.

The provider was extremely quick in all three tests, with an average download speed of 403.8 Mbps. By contrast, the average speed of the other providers was 231.2 Mbps.

NordVPN has some interesting security features. You can connect to the Tor network through specialized NordVPN servers. The company offers “double hop” routes that pass your traffic through two servers in different locations and places double encryption on your connection. Another feature offered by NordVPN is extra DDoS protection, which is particularly useful if you are into online gaming and are likely to get attacked by an opponent.

As an added extra, you can choose to have your own dedicated IP address. This means that whenever you connect to the service and wherever you connect from, you will be represented by the same substitute IP address on the internet. The company offers dedicated addresses in four locations. To access US sites, you would need to ask for a dedicated IP address from Buffalo. Getting a dedicated IP address will let you run your own media server, such as a Plex Server. That means you can store movies and documents back home and access them all from a storage-limited mobile device abroad.

NordVPN’s main security method is OpenVPN. The company’s implementation protects data with AES encryption with a 256-bit key, and session establishment is protected by RSA encryption with a 2048-bit key.

You can download and install a NordVPN app on Windows, Mac OS X, macOS, Android, Linux, and iOS. The system can also be installed manually on set-top boxes and routers. If you just want to have your browser covered by the VPN, try the extensions for Chrome and Firefox.

NordVPN offers an allowance of 10 simultaneous connections to each customer.

BEST VPN FOR US EXPATS:NordVPN is our #1 choice. An exceptionally fast and secure VPN that works well with US streaming content. Solid security and privacy features. Includes a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full review of NordVPN.

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2. Surfshark

Surfshark is a strong choice for expats thanks to its reliable speeds and strong unblocking ability. This VPN not only works with major platforms like Netflix US from abroad but also allows you to access region-locked services like NBC and Paramount Plus from anywhere.

Perhaps best of all, Surfshark has no connection limit, meaning it’s perfect for those who want to stream safely both at home and on the go.

To find out how fast Surfshark’s US servers were, we carried out three speed tests over the course of a day. Note that our base connection speed during testing averaged at 502.06 Mbps.

Like NordVPN, Surfshark was very fast. Its average download speed was 392.7 Mbps, which is far faster than the combined average speeds of the other providers. In practice, you’ll be able to use Surfshark while gaming, streaming or torrenting.

This service prioritizes your security and privacy, using 256-bit encryption, a kill switch, and protection against DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leaks to keep you anonymous online.

You can also pay in cryptocurrency if you like, but as no personally identifiable information is logged, you can’t be traced either way. Should you need any help, you can reach customer support 24/7 over live chat.

Surfshark has apps for Windows, Android, iOS, MacOS, and Linux devices. Manual configuration is required before use with network routers.

BEST BUDGET CHOICE:Surfshark is an affordable VPN that makes streaming a breeze and doesn’t limit you to a set number of devices. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full review of Surfshark

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3. IPVanish

IPVanish is based in the United States and offers decent speeds for connections to the USA from anywhere in the world. It can access US TV channel web services, and it’s great for Kodi. This VPN service can also access Netflix USA from overseas.

You can choose a city located in the USA when you connect to the VPN service. IPVanish has a total of 1,106 servers in the USA, spread across 20 cities. If you like playing online games abroad, IPVanish could be your best choice. It has servers located very close to all of the major game servers in the USA, which means less latency. For example, IPVanish has 12 servers in Seattle, very close to Steam’s West Coast base, and 72 servers in Ashburn, just a couple of miles from Steam’s East Coast HQ.

We tested IPVanish’s US servers several times over the course of a day using a virtual machine with an average download speed of 502.06 Mbps. You can see the results below.

The provider exceeded 200 Mbps in all three tests, and had an average speed of 212.9 Mbps. This compares favorably against the other providers in this list, who had a combined average speed of 208.1 Mbps. This makes it a good choice for everything from gaming to video calls.

IPVanish operates a dynamic IP address system. When you connect to a server, you get allocated a new IP address to represent you for the duration of the session. While connected, you are the only person using that address. When you disconnect, that address goes back into the pool, and someone else will use it. You almost never get allocated the same address twice.

The VPN service uses the protection of the OpenVPN system. This is implemented with a 256-bit AES cipher to protect data. Session establishment is carried out with a 2048-bit RSA cipher.

Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android. The VPN can run on Amazon Fire devices, but you must manually set those up. You get unlimited simultaneous connections with IPVanish; it offers the cheapest available monthly subscription for people who don’t want to commit to a yearly contract, and there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee.

UNLIMITED DEVICES:IPVanish has a large network of servers. Allows unlimited simultaneous connections. Recommended for their high standard of privacy and solid unblocking ability.

Read our full review of IPVanish.

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4. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN can access Netflix USA when overseas and can easily unblock online video from all the major US TV networks. Not all of ExpressVPN’s US servers work with every US streaming outlet; however, be sure to ask the 24/7 live chat support which ones to use with your favorite channels.

You may notice that ExpressVPN is a little pricey. However, you will need the extra-strength encryption and cloaking methods of ExpressVPN if you go to places such as China or Iran, where advanced censorship stops most VPNs from working. Very few VPNs offer sufficient protection in China, so if that’s where you are headed, you will find that ExpressVPN’s price is worth every cent. The Chinese authorities regularly scan internet traffic and try to block VPN-protected connections, but ExpressVPN consistently stays one step ahead.

If you subscribe to sports channels in the USA, it is important to have a choice of locations through which to connect. When you connect to the service, ExpressVPN lets you choose a city, not just a country. The company has servers in 18 US cities, including a location in Los Angeles that routes through Hong Kong.

To find out how fast ExpressVPN’s US servers were, we carried out multiple speed tests. You can see the results below. Note that our download speed when not connected to a VPN server was 502.06 Mbps.

Speeds were consistent across tests, which is a good measure of reliability. Overall, the provider’s average speed was 193.7 Mbps. This was a little lower than the combined average speeds of the other VPNs, but a respectable result nevertheless.

Apps are available for Windows, MacOS, iOS, Android, Linux, Kindle Fire devices, and certain wifi routers. If you have a device that doesn’t support VPN apps, ExpressVPN subscribers can use the included MediaStreamer smart DNS service to unblock content instead, but without the security provided by a VPN.

EASY STREAMING:ExpressVPN has robust security and the ability to stream major streaming services including US Netflix, Hulu, HBO, and Amazon Prime. Great privacy features and keeps no logs. Comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full review of ExpressVPN.

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5. CyberGhost

CyberGhost offers excellent streaming speeds, and you can preset the VPN client at the beginning of a session to optimize it for watching videos online. The system can circumvent access blocks on most US TV channels’ websites and Netflix USA. The company runs over 2,000 servers in the USA, and these are located in 11 cities. This VPN has over 10,000 servers in total.

We carried out speed tests while connected to the provider’s US servers. You can see the results below. Note that our base connection speed during testing averaged at 502.06 Mbps.

Although our connection speed without a VPN was a little slower than with the previous providers, CyberGhost still managed to achieve an impressive set of results. Overall, its average speed was 266 Mbps — which is faster than the combined average of the other providers.

The security measures included in the VPN service are excellent, and the company offers free extras to its customers, such as an immunizer against ransomware attacks.

CyberGhost employs strong session establishment encryption by giving its RSA cipher a 4096-bit key. Data exchanges are protected by AES encryption with a 256-bit key.

CyberGhost’s account management procedures are designed to provide total anonymity. The company doesn’t collect payment itself, and you are only identified on the CyberGhost computers by an account number. All the company knows about you is your account’s expiration date.

When you want to subscribe for another period, you load up your account with more credit at the payment processing company. If you want even more privacy, you can opt to pay with Bitcoin, which means you can’t be traced through your bank account.

Apps are available for Windows, Mac OS X, macOS, iOS, and Android. You can set up the VPN manually on Linux and some routers and set-top boxes. You are allowed to connect to the service seven times concurrently. This is a stylish piece of software and the company is so confident that you will enjoy using it that they offer a 45-day money-back guarantee.

VALUE & PERFORMANCE:CyberGhost has a simple but effective set-up. Great privacy, fast speeds, zero logs and DNS leak protection. 45-day money-back guarantee.

Read our full CyberGhost review.

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6. PureVPN

PureVPN is a formidable option if you want a low-cost VPN that works to watch US TV platforms from abroad. The VPN starts at just $1.96 per month, and for that price, you get WireGuard connections and US servers that work to access Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, Peacock, and nearly every other service we tested it with,

PureVPN has servers in over 65 countries, which means you can also use it to access popular international services. This makes it a fantastic all-rounder for watching Canadian TV, British TV, or anything else that takes your fancy from around the globe. It also allows torrenting, and you can get port forwarding if you need it, albeit at a small extra cost each month.

We tested the provider’s speed while connected to its US servers. You can see the results of our tests below.

PureVPN’s average download speed was 167.2 Mbps, which is a decent enough result — albeit a little slower than the combined average speed of the other providers that we tested. If you have a decent base connection speed (ours was 502.06 Mbps), then you’ll be able to enjoy US TV interruption-free.

PureVPN apps are available for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Firestick, and they offer everything you need to gain online privacy at home, work, or elsewhere. Each app provides AES encryption, a no-logs policy, a kill switch, and DNS leak protection. The VPN also has a no-logging policy that has been independently verified.

The only slight drawback is that the live chat support is slow to respond. However, this is a pretty small drawback considering this VPN’s cost and its effectiveness for getting an IP address on either the West or East Coast of America. You can try the VPN yourself using its risk-free 31-day money-back guarantee.

LOW COST:PureVPN lets you watch Netflix, ABC, ESPN, Hulu, HBO Max, and many other platforms abroad. Starts at just $1.96 per month. The VPN is secure and reliable despite being low-cost. Apps provide a no-logs policy, AES encryption, a killswitch, and DNS leak protection. 24/7 live chat support. 31-day money-back guarantee.

Find out more in our PureVPN review.

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7. ProtonVPN

ProtonVPN is based in the privacy-friendly country of Switzerland and has an impressive reputation due to being developed by the makers of Proton Mail. It has a no-logs policy and is committed to providing subscribers with online privacy. It also has servers in 112 countries, including the US, to watch home TV services from abroad. In our tests, it worked with Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Peacock, and most other services we tested it with.

ProtonVPN has apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Those apps come with AES encryption, a kill switch, a choice of protocols, obfuscation, split tunneling, multi-hop connections, self-owned bare metal servers (Secure Core), and Tor over VPN. Port forwarding also makes it suitable for seeding torrents with any client.

The security provided by ProtonVPN makes it a reliable option to prevent ISP snooping and government surveillance and protect you against hackers on public Wi-Fi. This makes it an excellent option if you live in or travel to a country that blocks websites or VoIP services.

We tested ProtonVPN’s speeds while connected to one of its US servers. Note that our base connection speed during testing averaged at 502.06 Mbps.

The provider got faster during the day, reaching a top speed of 168.4 Mbps. Overall, though, it averaged at 132.2 Mbps. This is substantially slower than the combined average speed of the other VPNs, though will only really be an issue if you have a very slow connection to start with.

Live chat support is available for subscribers in the members area of the website, and you can try the VPN using its 30-day money-back guarantee.

PRIVACY FIRST:ProtonVPN is a secure and highly advanced VPN. It has a choice of US servers that work to access home services from abroad. It has apps for all platforms with reliable privacy features, including a kill switch, obfuscation, multi-hop, and AES encryption. Allows torrenting. 30-day money-back guarantee.

Find out more in our ProtonVPN review.

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8. PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN is a good option for streaming video from US sites to overseas locations. The company offers an effective stealth mode and can circumvent regional restrictions on most US TV websites. It can also access Netflix USA and the Netflix libraries for the UK, Canada, Japan, Spain, Brazil, Italy, and France.

To find out how fast the provider’s US servers were, we carried out several speed tests.

PrivateVPN averaged 80.9 Mbps overall. While this is still fast enough for watching US TV without interruption, you might like to opt for one of the faster providers in this list if you have a slow connection speed (for reference, ours was 502.06 Mbps).

Although PrivateVPN is based in Sweden, all of its support staff speaks excellent English, so you won’t need to worry about language skills when you need to contact them for help. PrivateVPN’s Help Desk is one of its strong points, and it is available online during Swedish business hours. If you aren’t tech-savvy, the support technician can take control of your computer and fix the problem for you.

A second strong point of PrivateVPN is its commitment to privacy. The company was founded by torrenting enthusiasts, and they are still campaigning against European laws that try to trace users or block downloading activities. The service keeps no logs at all, and all payments are processed by a third party. You are only identified on the PrivateVPN system by an account number.

The server network of PrivateVPN is not as large as that of the other VPNs on this list. However, it has servers in nine cities in the USA. All of the locations offer the option to connect using OpenVPN. However, the company recommends that those using the service in China opt for the L2TP VPN system because its OpenVPN connections get spotted and blocked by the authorities there.

PrivateVPN allows each customer 10 simultaneous connections. You also get apps for Windows, Mac OS X, macOS, Android, and iOS. You can also install the VPN on Amazon Fire devices, Linux, and manually on some set-top boxes and routers.

PRIVATE CONNECTIONS:PrivateVPN is a good family choice. Works with US Netflix and allows up to 10 devices on the same account. Small network of servers but strong unblocking ability. 30-day money back guarantee.

Read our full review of PrivateVPN.

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How to watch American TV abroad

Using a VPN to access your favorite shows is simple. Below is our guide for US expats wanting to watch American TV abroad online.

Here’s how to watch US TV abroad:

1. Sign up to your chosen VPN provider. We recommend NordVPN.
2. Download the relevant app for your device from the VPN provider’s website or an official app store.
3. Install the app and log in using your new credentials.
4. Connect to a server in the US, this will give you an American IP address. The exact server location doesn’t matter unless you want to unblock streaming websites restricted to a specific US region.
5. Navigate to the stream you’d like to watch and enjoy!

If you run into any issues, try clearing your cookies and cache, connecting to a different server, or contacting your VPN’s customer support team for extra assistance.

VPNs for American TV: Our testing methodology

While countless VPNs offer servers in the US, many are unsuitable for streaming — primarily due to slow server speeds or poor unblocking ability. However, there are other elements that are also worth bearing in mind. To make sure we don’t miss anything when evaluating VPNs, we test each of them against numerous metrics. Let’s take a look at our process.

Speed

We regularly test VPN providers’ global speeds. However, for this article, we specifically wanted to know how fast their US servers were. We carried out three speed tests over the course of a day: one in the morning, one at noon, and one in the afternoon.

We used the Ookla speed-testing app for measurements and carried out the tests on a virtual machine with an overall average download speed of 502.06 Mbps. You can see the results below.

NordVPN was the fastest provider overall, closely followed by Surfshark. CyberGhost performed less consistently but was still notably quick and an excellent alternative.

Streaming ability

If you want to watch US TV from abroad, you’ll need to connect to a US server. to gauge which providers have the most servers available, we scored them on how many US server locations they had. This typically reflects actual server numbers (which VPNs are sometimes reluctant to divulge).

We then scored providers on how many US streaming platforms they could access. This involved testing US-only platforms such as Hulu and international services like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

For ease of comparison, we used an average of these scores. You can see results below.

ExpressVPN scored highest overall, with a solid US presence and excellent access to streaming services. Surfshark, NordVPN, and IPVanish are all great alternatives if ExpressVPN seems too pricey.

Value for money

We all like getting a good deal. However, that means more than just finding the cheapest subscriptions. When determining whether a VPN is good value or not, we evaluate it against the following criteria:

We assign a score to each of these criteria so that we’re left with an overall score out of ten. This makes it easier to compare providers.

Security and privacy

When choosing a VPN, it’s important to check that they fulfill their primary purpose — which is to protect your connection. To assess which are able to do this, we evaluate each VPN against the criteria presented in the table below.

Each of these ten criteria is given a score, which we combine to create an overall score out of ten. We can then use this to meaningfully compare providers.

NordVPN and Surfshark are the most secure and private, though ProtonVPN is also a great choice. All three go above and beyond the minimum requirements needed to keep you safe online.

Ease of use

Few people want to spend more time with VPN software than is necessary. With this in mind, we evaluated how easy each VPN provider’s service was to use. You can see which metrics we measured in the table below.

Scores for each metric are combined to produce a total score out of ten, which we can use to conveniently compare providers.

As you can see from the chart above, NordVPN provided the easiest-to-use service overall. This was closely followed by IPVanish. Both providers were easy to sign up to and had well-designed interfaces.

Using a free VPN to stream US content abroad

When streaming online content, having a reliable VPN service can make a huge difference in your overall experience. While free VPNs may seem convenient and cost-effective, they often come with limitations that can hinder your streaming experience. For example, free VPNs may have data limits that restrict how much content you can stream, fewer server locations that limit your access to certain regions, and slower speeds that result in buffering and lagging.

Also, free VPNs may not be able to consistently unblock popular streaming platforms like US content, which can be frustrating if you’re trying to access specific shows or movies. To avoid interruptions during streaming and gain access to a broad range of US content, opting for a well-known paid VPN service that provides fast speeds, an extensive server network, and dedicated streaming features is advisable.

These types of VPNs are designed to enhance your streaming experience by providing reliable connections, unrestricted access to content, and advanced security features to keep your data safe. So, if you want to get the most out of your streaming experience, it’s worth investing in a high-quality VPN service.

How to watch US TV abroad FAQ