Best VPN for Apple TV in 2025: Unlock a World of Streaming With Our Top Picks

Based on my experience and research with VPNs, these are the most important factors to consider when deciding which VPN to choose for Apple TV.

Streaming capabilities

When using a VPN on your Apple TV, you'll most likely want to be able to access geographically restricted streaming content. But just because a VPN has servers in a specific region doesn't necessarily mean that it will give you access to streaming content from that region. Performance can vary greatly from one provider to another, so if the VPN you're using struggles to give you access to content from the regions and streaming providers you want, then you may want to switch to a different VPN. Most VPNs offer money-back guarantees of usually around 30 days, which can give you a chance to try a few providers to see which one works best for you before fully committing.

Speed

Using a VPN will slow your internet speeds, sometimes even by 50% or more. You’ll want a fast VPN to ensure a buffer-free experience streaming movies and shows on your Apple TV. With a fast VPN, you can expect your speeds to drop only by about 25% or less, which is barely noticeable if you have a fast connection to begin with. Netflix recommends that you have at least a 15Mbps connection to stream in 4K, but you'll probably need closer to at least 50Mbps for a smooth 4K streaming experience, especially if you have multiple devices connected to your network.

Usability

Your VPN for Apple TV should be simple to use, easy to navigate and quick to connect. You don’t want your Apple TV VPN app to have an awkward layout that makes servers a pain to locate when you’re using your remote to navigate the app. You need an app that quickly connects to a server and runs in the background while you enjoy your shows and movies. If it’s any more complicated than that, your VPN is doing it wrong.

Privacy

Privacy is an important consideration for any VPN use case, including streaming on Apple TV devices. When you use a VPN on your Apple TV, your traffic is encrypted and your ISP and other online snoops won't be able to monitor your internet traffic or streaming activity. You’ll want to use a trustworthy VPN that has a strong track record of protecting user privacy. Always look through a VPN’s privacy policy with special attention to its data collection and sharing practices. Also, look into the VPN’s independent audit history, transparency reports and any legal action it has been involved in to get a sense of how trustworthy it is when it comes to protecting your privacy.

Price

For most of us, price is an important factor in the majority of things we purchase, including VPNs. A VPN can cost anywhere from $5 to $15 per month or $40 to more than $100 per year, so there are VPNs available for basically any budget. You might be tempted to go straight for a more expensive VPN, but that’s not necessarily the best approach when looking for an Apple TV VPN. A premium price doesn’t always mean better service. Even if a VPN has a thousand bells and whistles attached, it doesn’t matter if the actual Apple TV VPN app isn’t up to scratch. Some of the best VPNs for Apple TV devices are actually pretty cheap.

Server network

If you want to unblock streaming content from multiple regions on your Apple TV, you’ll want your VPN’s server network to include servers in a wide range of countries. Some VPNs have servers in over 100 countries, while some only have about 50. More countries will give you more choices when it comes to unblocking international streaming content, but it’s more important for your VPN to have servers in the specific countries you want. Visit the VPN’s website to check its server locations and make sure it has servers in the regions you want to unblock streaming content from on your Apple TV.

To determine the best VPNs for Apple TV, I paid close attention to how easy each VPN app was to navigate and interact with. Are the server locations easy to locate and arranged in an organized manner? Is the app design clean and easily understandable for beginner VPN users? Is the app responsive and does it connect quickly? Does the VPN give me access to a wide variety of streaming content from different streaming providers across various international server locations?

The main part of my testing procedure involved evaluating how each VPN performed when streaming on Apple TV. I tested the VPN apps with some of the most popular streaming providers, including Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video. I connected via various server locations across the globe to check each VPN’s unblocking capabilities on different streaming platforms and noted how quickly streaming content loaded up and played. I also took into account each VPN’s speed performance, privacy posture and overall value -- all factors that play a role in how we test VPNs at CNET.

NordVPN

NordVPN is an excellent VPN, but if you plan to use it on your Apple TV, you might end up disappointed. During my testing of NordVPN’s Apple TV app, I encountered error messages on every single title I attempted to stream on every foreign Netflix library I tried accessing. Despite earlier troubles, I was able to access content on Hulu through NordVPN's Apple TV app during my latest tests, which was a welcome improvement. Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Amazon Prime Video and US Netflix worked fine. Still, streaming is the main reason the vast majority of people opt for a VPN on Apple TV, and if NordVPN can’t quite get it right for key services like Netflix, I suggest passing on it for a VPN that can.

In my experience, NordVPN’s Apple TV app also isn’t nearly as user-friendly as most of the competition. Browsing for servers is a pain because you have no choice but to side-scroll through a list of servers that are arranged in no discernible order. For a VPN with servers in 126 different countries, this user interface choice is baffling. Alternatively, you can search for a specific server, but the server locations don’t begin to populate until you enter the third letter of your search. These are, admittedly minor inconveniences, but still, a thumbs down from me on usability and unwelcome in conjunction with its other struggles.

I wholeheartedly recommend NordVPN as a solid option for basically anything else, but not for Apple TV, even if its streaming performance was slightly better in my latest tests.

Read our NordVPN review.

PrivadoVPN

PrivadoVPN is a relatively new VPN provider that's been making headway in the industry over the past few years. It's not a top pick, but its Apple TV app is a decent option for casual users who just want to stream content. I like how the app makes it possible to browse for servers based on latency, which can help you potentially find optimally performing servers and ensure your streaming experience remains smooth. You can also designate favorite servers and browse locations alphabetically, but strangely there’s no option to search for server locations. In any case, the app connected instantly during my tests and streaming was always buffer-free, despite PrivadoVPN’s lackluster speed performance during our most recent speed tests.

PrivadoVPN offers a free plan that’s okay for casual internet browsing, but I don’t recommend it for streaming on Apple TV or any other device because of its 10GB monthly limit (which is about enough to stream one or two movies per month). If that’s enough for you, then give it a shot. During my tests, PrivadoVPN’s free tier failed to give me access to both Netflix and Disney Plus streaming content -- although I was able to stream Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Apple TV Plus content on the free plan. With the paid plan, I was able to access streaming content on each of those streaming services as well as on Netflix and Disney Plus. PrivadoVPN’s premium tier gives you access to servers in 50 countries, which isn't terribly impressive compared to providers like ExpressVPN and NordVPN, but PrivadoVPN makes up for it with some pretty cheap initial prices. At $11 per month, the monthly plan is nothing to write home about, but the first year only costs $20 and a two-year plan is $30. These are exceptional savings, but be warned as these are only introductory prices. The yearly plan renews at $60, whereas the two-year plan renews at $96 every two years. 

Read our PrivadoVPN review.

IPVanish

IPVanish's Apple TV app performed adequately during my tests, with an easy-to-navigate interface and instantaneous connections. I found it a welcome departure from its otherwise clunky app on other platforms. You can quickly connect to an Optimal Location, search for a specific location or browse country and city server locations alphabetically. I also like how you can quickly access a list of recently used locations and your bank of favorite servers. IPVanish’s Apple TV app connects via IKEv2 without any option to change protocols. As with other TVOS VPN apps, you won’t really find any other settings to play around with.

I was able to use IPVanish’s Apple TV app to stream content on popular streaming platforms like Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV Plus. Streams were reliably smooth and buffer-free whether I connected to a server close by or on the other side of the globe. Overall, IPVanish’s performance and streaming capabilities on Apple TV were satisfactory during my tests. IPVanish is a decent choice if all you want to do is use it on your Apple TV, but I ultimately cannot recommend it as a top pick because it doesn't offer much that sets it apart from competitors that are similarly priced or cheaper. IPVanish costs $13 per month, $40 for the first year or $52 for the first two years combined. The annual and two-year plans renew at $90 per year after the initial billing period, which is expensive for what you get. A 30-day money-back guarantee is available on the annual and two-year plans, but IPVanish doesn't offer any guarantee on its monthly plan. (Disclaimer: IPVanish is owned by the same parent company as CNET, Ziff Davis).