Best VPNs for Apple TV

1. NordVPN - Best VPN for Apple TV Overall

Editors Rating:

9.7 /10

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How We Review

NordVPN is a big-name VPN brand, and with that comes compatibility with a wide range of systems. Although Apple TV does not support NordVPN directly, there are plenty of ways to connect your Apple TV to this VPN. You could set up NordVPN on your router, share your Windows laptop’s VPN connection with your Apple TV, or if you don’t mind its lack of encryption, you could use NordVPN’s Smart DNS feature. That last one is the easiest to set up if your goal is solely to watch Netflix from other countries without much need to secure your traffic.

Best-in-Class Security and Encryption

We’ll go easy on the tech jargon, but here’s what you should know about NordVPN’s protocols. First, it offers the options to use OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPSec, and WireGuard. Those three are some of the most secure VPN protocols available today. Second, it uses the gold standard in encryption, 256-bit AES. And last, NordVPN is one of the few VPNs that allow multi-hop, basically routing your traffic through two encrypted tunnels for maximum security.

Smart DNS

But sometimes, all you want is to stream content not available in your country. We get it; a study shows that more than half of all VPN users use VPNs primarily to access better entertainment. NordVPN has an easier way for you to access content on your Apple TV without having to go through the hoops of setting up NordVPN on your router. The feature is called Smart DNS, and you can set it up simply by manually configuring your Apple TV’s DNS. If that sounds too daunting, don’t worry, NordVPN will provide all the details you’ll need. Just enable manual DNS on your Apple TV and enter the DNS address you’ll find in your NordVPN account.

Speeds That Don’t Disappoint

Speed is pretty important when you’re streaming, and well, we tested NordVPN’s capabilities in this area. We have the full scoop in our NordVPN review, but here’s an overview: In our Mac tests, NordVPN slowed down our upload and download speeds by 20- and 24-percent, respectively. And in our Windows test, the download speed difference was a mere eight-percent. These results tell us that even though NordVPN provides top-notch encryption, it doesn’t sacrifice speed. Isn’t that what we want from the best VPN for Apple TV?

2. Surfshark - Best Value VPN for Apple TV

Editors Rating:

9.5 /10

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How We Review

Surfshark ranks high due to its affordable yet feature-rich VPN. Feature-wise, Surfshark offers split tunneling, a kill switch, multi-hop, 256-bit AES encryption, and multiple VPN protocols. These features are similar to what we’ve seen from our top VPNs. What sets Surfshark apart is that it’s very affordable, with plans starting at just over $2 a month. Plus, Surfshark frequently goes on sale, so it’s possible to get a subscription for even less.

Connect In Multiple Ways

Like other VPNs on this list, Surfshark offers multiple ways to connect your Apple TV to its VPN. You can set up Surfshark on compatible routers, create a virtual router using your Windows PC, or use smart DNS. Having this many options allows users to choose the best connection type for their Apple TV. If you want a more permanent connection, the router setup works best. If you want to change your VPN server frequently, setting up a virtual router with your computer is most ideal. And if you want the easiest but less secure option, smart DNS is for you.

No Limit on Simultaneous Connections

Our tests focused on finding the best VPNs for Apple TVs, but at the same time, we looked for VPNs that can do more than just stream Emily in Paris. We found Surfshark a very solid option due to the fact that it has no limits on simultaneous connections, meaning, you could connect as many devices as you own to the VPN at once. We were thrilled to be able to protect our laptops, smartphones, tablets, and even gaming consoles with just one Surfshark subscription.

Customer-Friendly Policies

Surfshark has one of the most customer-friendly billing policies among the VPNs we tested. We started with a seven-day free trial, during which we didn’t have to put in our credit card details. It was completely free. After that, once our subscription switched over to a paid plan, we discovered that we had 30 more days to try the VPN, or get our money back. This money-back guarantee extended our time to test Surfshark, a testament to how much the company believes in its product.

3. Private Internet Access VPN - Best Apple TV VPN with Smart DNS

Editors Rating:

9.4 /10

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How We Review

Private Internet Access, or PIA for short, is an easy-to-use yet feature-rich VPN with lots of useful functionalities to offer. Like all the VPNs on this list, PIA doesn’t work with AppleTVs directly, but has numerous ways to let Apple TV users benefit from a VPN. Among those ways is Smart DNS, and we’ve found PIA the best VPN with this feature.

Easy To Set Up Smart DNS

We’ve tested many VPNs that offer Smart DNS, and while they were all able to unblock content restrictions for our Apple TV, PIA stood out. For one, the setup process was easy. We got our Smart DNS settings directly from our PIA account dashboard, and it worked the first time we tried it out. Secondly, PIA was one of the few VPNs with Smart DNS that allowed us to choose a country for our DNS settings. PIA has quite a list of Smart DNS locations that changes every time depending on availability. The availability of different Smart DNS locations allowed for a much wider selection of content to unblock.

Tutorials

It’s often the little things that count most, and in the case of PIA, we appreciated the helpful tutorials posted on its website. Setting up a VPN on an Apple TV is never as easy as doing the same on a computer or mobile device, and when we tested PIA, we turned to its online help articles a lot. Whether you’re a novice with regards to VPNs or an expert like us, you’ll find Private Internet Access’ support page extremely useful.

No-Logs Policy

At the end of the day, though, privacy is the number one reason that many of us use VPNs. With Private Internet Access, we didn’t worry about our privacy because of its strict no-logs policy, which assured us that whatever we did online remained within the confines of the VPN tunnel. PIA doesn’t record its users IP addresses and web activities, so even if the government subpoenas PIA’s records (they can do that because PIA is in the US, under Five Eyes jurisdiction), the company has nothing to show.

4. ExpressVPN - Best Router VPN for Apple TV

Editors Rating:

9.1 /10

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How We Review

If you’ve read any of our other best VPN lists, then you might already be familiar with ExpressVPN, but far fewer people have used it for Apple TV. To do so, we used MediaStreamer, but if you want more privacy, we recommend simply using ExpressVPN on your router. Once your Apple TV is connected to your router’s network, it’ll be covered in their encrypted tunnel.

Fast on Windows and Macs

Aside from using ExpressVPN purely for entertainment purposes on Apple TV, you can also use it, as we did, on Mac and Windows laptops. And in our experience, it didn’t slow down our computers’ browsing speeds too much, with only a 43 percent increase in latency on the Macbook Pro and a 36 percent increase on the Windows Vivobook. These numbers may sound like a lot, but trust us, we’ve tested out dozens of VPNs and these are some of the better numbers we’ve gotten.

Good for Gaming

Once you’re done watching Apple TV, you might want to use a VPN for gaming, but the good news is that you can keep ExpressVPN connected! That’s because it works not only with Apple TV but also with PlayStations 3 or 4 or Xbox One. And with the lack of latency, you’ll be sure to win…well, nine times out of 10, anyway.

Solid Logging Policy

No matter whether we were using their VPN on our Apple TV or another device, and no matter what we did online, ExpressVPN didn’t keep track of any of it. Rather, the only information they tracked were the dates we connected, the app version we used, the server we connected to and our total amount of data transferred while connected. Combining that with their non-membership to Five Eyes and ExpressVPN is a great pick for the privacy-minded.

5. CyberGhost - Most Affordable VPN for Apple TV

Editors Rating:

8.9 /10

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How We Review

Most people want to keep their money in their pockets, not spend exorbitant amounts on a VPN. Meet Cyberghost, which offers a three-year plan for only $2.25 a month, with three months added for free! That’s a discount of over 80 percent off their monthly package, which costs $12.99. You can also choose from discounted one year or two-year plans, which all benefit from their 45-day, money-back guarantee.

Watch Apple TV in a Flash

To connect to CyberGhost on our Apple TV, we simply went into the VPN’s DNS settings and activated our Apple TV’s IP address. The process only took a few minutes, and before we knew it we were watching The Morning Show. God, how we missed seeing Jennifer Aniston on the regular!

High-Quality Encryption

To encrypt our Apple TV-watching, and any other ways we used the Internet, CyberGhost used AES-256, which is the industry standard when it comes to encryption. In fact, it’s so strong that even the National Security Agency uses it to encrypt government systems,1 so it’s more than good enough to make sure that our ISP isn’t snooping around our browser history.

Romania Headquarters

Since CyberGhost is based in Bucharest, Romania, they can never be forced to hand the government any of our information, as Romania isn’t a member of Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, or 14 Eyes. This isn’t always the case for VPN companies; some companies, based in countries like the United States and United Kingdom, could be legally forced to give the government this type of data, so if privacy is a concern, CyberGhost is also a top choice.

6. HMA VPN - Best Apple TV VPN for Families

Editors Rating:

8.3 /10

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How We Review

While you may love nothing more than plopping down in front of your Apple TV with your family, with more people comes more devices aside from an Apple TV. Let’s face it: these days, the average household in the U.S has over 10 devices,2 and 10 VPN subscriptions can get real expensive, real fast. But that’s not the case with HMA, which has a plan that covers up to 10 devices for one, two or three years, ranging from $5.99 to $7.99 a month. We recommend you go with the three-year plan to save 54 percent, but of course, feel free to learn more about HMA’s pricing before you pick your subscription.

Connect To Apple TV Through Router

Again, it was simple to connect to HMA through our router, configuring our router to the VPN and then connecting our Apple TV to the router directly. Just make sure that the devices’ IP address is in the same IP subnet as the router and you’ll be streaming in minutes. Another option is to get a pre-configured router from FlashRouters, sold in a combination with HMA for $25 off if you spend more than $200. That’ll save you the trouble of configuring, for those with more money and less patience for tech.

Plans for Business Use

If you use Apple TV in your work life (lucky you!) then HMA is a fantastic option. That’s because the more simultaneous connections you buy, the bigger discount you unlock.

And if you want more than 30 simultaneous connections, HMA will create a custom plan for you, ideal for someone that loves to negotiate. With prices as lower than $3 a month per connection per month, this is a cost-effective solution to protecting your sensitive business data.

Dynamic IP Addresses

While there’s some debate on this topic in the VPN space, personally, we prefer dynamic versus static IP addresses, meaning that we get a new IP address everytime we connect to a VPN server. But HMA took this to a whole new level, with new IP addresses available anywhere from once a day to every 10 minutes (yes, you read that right). This took our privacy from zero to hero.

7. KeepSolid VPN Unlimited - Best Apple TV VPN with Dedicated IP Address

Editors Rating:

8.0 /10

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How We Review

Although we personally prefer dynamic IP addresses, some people might want a static IP address, and not only that but an IP address that only they’re on. If you want a dedicated IP address for your Apple TV VPN, there’s no better choice than the VPN Unlimited from KeepSolid. Why wouldn’t someone want a shared IP address? Well, some websites or countries block them, like China. However, if you’re the only one on the IP address, your risk of being blocked goes way down. You can see their exact costs on our KeepSolid VPN Unlimited pricing page, but just know that dedicated IP addresses are anywhere from $12.50 to $14.99 a month.

Using AirPlay Mirroring for Apple TV

Connecting VPN Unlimited to our Apple TV worked a little bit differently than the other VPNs on this list. Instead of connecting it to our router or configuring our DNS settings, we used AirPlay Mirroring, playing streaming websites on our Macbook Pro and then mirroring it to our Apple TV. This would also work on iOS devices or Windows devices, but if you prefer changing your DNS settings, that’s an option as well. Personally, we found mirroring from our iPhones to be a bit easier, but whatever floats your boat!

Private Servers Available

If a dedicated IP address isn’t enough for you, KeepSolid also offers personal servers, ideal for the most privacy. With maximums of one, two or three TB of data per month, monthly costs range from $24.99 to $49.99 with the monthly plan, $18.33 to $41.67 for the annual plan, or, if you want to buy a private server for life, a flat fee of $499.99. Private servers have many advantages, especially for businesses. We recommend taking advantage of the lifetime package for the most reliability and the fastest at the lowest possible cost, when you depreciate it over time.

Severs in Over 80 Locations

One of the most convenient things about the Apple TV is that it’s not actually a TV, but a plastic box that we can plug in to our actual televisions via an HDMI cable. That makes it super convenient for traveling, as we can simply plug it into our hotels’ TVs and access our familiar old streaming services. If you’re a frequent traveler like us (pre-pandemic, at least), then you’ll appreciate the fact that VPN Unlimited has servers in over 80 different locations around the world. With a total of more than 500 servers, you’ll be able to get fast speeds just as we did with nearby servers.