Updated on: July 23, 2024
Short on time? Here’s the best VPN for IPTV in 2024:
- 🥇 ExpressVPN : It accesses all IPTV platforms, including top ones like YouTube TV, Hulu Live TV, and Sling TV, even when they’re blocked by ISPs, and works with IPTV apps like TiviMate. It ensures your privacy by hiding the IPTV service you’re using and has apps for watching IPTV on desktop, mobile, Amazon Fire Stick, smart TVs, and Apple TV. It backs all subscriptions with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
The best VPNs for IPTV work reliably with all major IPTV streaming platforms and maintain fast enough speeds to watch HD content without buffering. Plus, they encrypt your traffic, hiding what IPTV service you’re using and what you’re watching from your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and government.
My favorite VPN for IPTV is ExpressVPN, which is our top VPN 2024. It works with every IPTV service tested and provides the fastest speeds in the industry for streaming live HD content. But all of the VPNs on my list are worth checking out. Editors' Note: ExpressVPN and this site are in the same ownership group.
Quick summary of the best VPNs for IPTV:
- 1. 🥇ExpressVPN — Best overall VPN for IPTV in 2024 (fastest speeds for watching HD content buffer-free).
- 2. 🥈Private Internet Access — Excellent choice for streaming IPTV in the US with server locations in all 50 states.
- 3. 🥉CyberGhost VPN — Good VPN with dedicated servers for streaming IPTV + convenient automation tools.
- 4. NordVPN — Secure VPN for streaming IPTV (combines VPN security features with smart DNS).
- 5. Surfshark — Easy-to-use VPN for watching IPTV (great choice for people new to VPNs).
Editor’s Note: While all the VPNs I recommend have strict no-logs policies, which means they neither see nor record what you do online, this doesn’t give you license to engage in illegal activities. Neither I nor any of my colleagues at SafetyDetectives endorses copyright infringement, so we urge you to follow all relevant laws and regulations when streaming IPTV.
Editors' Note: Intego, Private Internet Access, CyberGhost and ExpressVPN are owned by Kape Technologies, our parent company
🥇1. ExpressVPN — Best Overall VPN for Streaming IPTV
ExpressVPN is my favorite VPN for watching IPTV in 2024. It consistently accesses IPTV services, including YouTube TV, Hulu Live TV, Sling TV, Fubo, DirecTV Stream, and more. Plus, it works seamlessly with IPTV players like TiviMate, Kodi, and IPTV Smart Player, too.
This provider has servers in 105 countries, including 18 locations in the US and 5 locations in the UK, so it can easily access lots of local content on IPTV and connect to a nearby server to connect to for the best possible speeds.
ExpressVPN gets around ISP blocks that prevent you from accessing IPTV services, including during big sports games. It has 265-AES encryption, which scrambles all of your traffic. As a bonus, this prevents ISP speed throttling, which is when an ISP slows your speeds for using too much bandwidth. It also has built-in DNS, IPv6, and WebRTC leak protection, which stops your IP address from leaking and potentially revealing to the IPTV service that you’re using a VPN.
ExpressVPN is the fastest VPN on the market, so it’s excellent for streaming IPTV in HD quality. In my tests, videos loaded instantly, and I was able to stream HD content without any interruptions and catch every play on live sports broadcasts.
This VPN lets you watch IPTV on any device. It has apps for Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS, Apple TV devices, and has a dedicated router app that can bypass ISP blocks of IPTV services on devices that don’t support VPNs, like certain smart TVs and gaming consoles. There’s a smart DNS feature (MediaStreamer) that can access geo-blocked IPTV services, but it doesn’t work with ISP blocks as it only changes the IP address and doesn’t encrypt your traffic.
Its split-tunneling feature is pretty convenient for watching IPTV on Android, Windows, and macOS. It lets you choose which apps you want to route through your VPN tunnel and which you want to use your regular internet connection. This lets you watch IPTV securely with a VPN while simultaneously using apps that need to know your actual location, like food delivery apps.
ExpressVPN’s plans start at $6.67 / month, and it backs all purchases with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
ExpressVPN is the best VPN for watching IPTV. It bypasses ISP blocks on IPTV services, has a great server network with lots of server locations in the US and UK, allowing it to access a variety of local IPTV content. Additionally, it maintains lightning-fast speeds for buffer-free live streams in HD. ExpressVPN backs all plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full ExpressVPN review
🥈2. Private Internet Access — Excellent for Watching IPTV in the US
Private Internet Access (PIA) is a very good VPN for watching IPTV in the US because it has servers in every single state, including a US East and US West server optimized for streaming. This allows it to access local live TV content, such as local sports games, in every state on IPTV services. Plus, it has servers in 91 countries, including 3 UK server locations.
PIA accesses IPTV services without any issues, including the likes of Hulu + Live TV, fubo, and Sling TV. This gives you access to TV channels like ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, and more. It works flawlessly with IPTV players like TiviMate and IPTV Smart Player as well.
I really like that PIA lets you change your encryption level from the standard 256-bit AES encryption to 128-bit AES encryption. 128-bit AES is slightly faster than 256-bit AES on unreliable networks like public Wi-Fi, which may be helpful for streaming IPTV more smoothly on slow networks.
Like ExpressVPN, PIA has a smart DNS tool for watching IPTV on devices that don’t support VPN apps. It doesn’t have a router app, but you can manually configure it on your router, following PIA’s step-by-step tutorials on its website. In my tests, I was able to get PIA configured on my router in 13–15 minutes.
I’m also a fan of PIA’s split-tunneling feature. Unlike the split-tunneling feature of most VPNs, it can split-tunnel IP addresses in addition to apps. This is convenient since you can watch IPTV over the VPN connection and exclude websites from the VPN tunnel that you don’t need the extra security for, to avoid unnecessary slowdowns.
Private Internet Access starts at $2.19 / month, and every subscription is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Private Internet Access is a very good choice for streaming IPTV in the US. It has servers in every single state and streaming-optimized servers on both coasts. It also works with a wide variety of IPTV services, including Hulu + Live TV, fubo, and Sling TV. Additionally, PIA allows you to change your encryption level, comes with smart DNS, and has an advanced split-tunneling tool. All of PIA’s plans are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full Private Internet Access review
Editors' Note: Private Internet Access and this site are in the same ownership group.
🥉3. CyberGhost VPN — Dedicated Streaming Servers + Convenient Automation
CyberGhost VPN has dedicated streaming servers for many IPTV platforms, including DirecTV Stream, fubo, Sling TV, and lots more. These servers are tested daily to ensure that they work as intended. In my tests, it also worked with TiviMate, IPTV Smart Player, and Kodi without issues.
I’m a big fan of its Smart Rules feature as well, which lets you streamline your IPTV viewing experience by automating your VPN connections. Using Smart Rules, you can set it up so that when you open your preferred IPTV streaming app or IPTV player, CyberGhost automatically connects to a specific VPN server. You can also have it launch your favorite IPTV app after you connect to a certain VPN server.
CyberGhost has a smart DNS tool and supports manual configuration, allowing it to access ISP-blocked IPTV services on gaming consoles and smart TVs that don’t support VPN apps. However, its smart DNS tool only works with Hulu + Live TV. For comparison, ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access’s smart DNS tools work with other US IPTV services as well as UK IPTV platforms like ITV and Sky Go.
CyberGhost has split-tunneling feature for routing your IPTV traffic through the VPN only, but this is only available on its Android app. It does have an Exceptions tool for Windows that functions similarly by letting you select websites you don’t want to route through the VPN, but it doesn’t work for apps.
CyberGhost VPN’s plans start at just $2.19 / month. Short-term plans have a 14-day money-back guarantee, and long-term plans have a generous 45-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
CyberGhost VPN has dedicated streaming servers that are optimized to work for a ton of popular IPTV services. Its Smart Rules feature is also pretty convenient for automating your VPN for watching IPTV on any IPTV site or app . Additionally, it comes with a smart DNS tool. This provider’s plans all come with a money-back guarantee (up to 45 days for long-term plans).
Read the full CyberGhost VPN review
Editors' Note: CyberGhost and this site are in the same ownership group.
4. NordVPN — Secure VPN for Streaming IPTV
NordVPN is a great pick for securely watching IPTV in HD. This is thanks to its SmartPlay feature that gets you the enhanced privacy and security of a VPN, which bypasses ISP blocks of IPTV services, with smart DNS, which gets around geo- blocks by IPTV services. Even better, it’s automatic, so you don’t have to change any settings to enjoy its benefits — just connect to a NordVPN server, and you’re all set. You can still use its smart DNS tool independently for devices that don’t support VPN apps.
This provider works with IPTV services like Hulu + Live TV, BBC iPlayer, Pluto TV, and Tubi TV. And NordVPN’s smart DNS can access ABC Go, FOX, Paramount+ and Peacock TV without any issues. This is a decent selection, but ExpressVPN works with a wider variety of IPTV platforms.
FInally, NordVPN offers split-tunneling on its Android and Windows apps (but not macOS, like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access), and I especially like its app-based kill switch, which shuts down the internet only specific apps, like the IPTV service players you use to watch TV content online.
NordVPN’s plans start at an affordable $3.09 / month, and it backs all purchases with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
NordVPN SmartPlay is great for accessing IPTV services and streaming more securely — it can change your DNS server while hiding your IP address and encrypting your traffic, which lets it bypass both ISP and IPTV blocks. It also comes with split-tunneling on its Android and Windows apps. NordVPN backs all subscriptions with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
5. Surfshark — Easy-to-Use VPN for IPTV (Great for Beginners)
Surfshark is a user-friendly VPN for watching IPTV. One neat thing about it is that its quick-connect button can be customized for 1-click connections to a server of your choosing, including any of its 20+ US server locations. I really like how you can favorite servers as well, which pins it to the top of the server selection menu, so you can easily access your most commonly used locations and watch IPTV securely.
This provider works with several major IPTV services, including Hulu + Live TV, BBC iPlayer, and DAZN. It also comes with a smart DNS tool, supports manual router setups, and its split-tunneling tool works well on both apps and sites (Private Internet Access is the only other VPN on this list that can split-tunnel both apps and sites).
That said, its smart DNS only works with Hulu + Live TV — ExpressVPN can access more US IPTV services, and some based in the UK.
Surfshark’s plans start at $2.19 / month, and all of its plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Surfshark is a highly intuitive VPN for IPTV, which makes it a good pick for beginners, with convenient features like quick-connect and favoriting. It also works with lots of top IPTV streaming platforms, has a smart DNS tool, can be set up on routers, and lets you split-tunnel both apps and sites. It backs all plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full Surfshark review
Quick Comparison Table
Editors' Note: Intego, Private Internet Access, CyberGhost and ExpressVPN are owned by Kape Technologies, our parent company
Testing Methodology: Comparison & Ranking Criteria
To put together this list of the best VPNs for IPTV, I followed SafetyDetectives’s proven testing methodology for VPNs. Each VPN on the list was tested with multiple IPTV services and while connected to multiple different servers to determine its speeds, reliability, security, ease of use, and more. To learn more about the criteria I used to rank and compare the VPNs on my list, look below:
- I made sure the VPNs worked reliably with popular IPTV services. The VPNs I recommend can consistently bypass ISP blocks and access IPTV services from anywhere in the world.
- I tested each VPN’s speeds when streaming. All VPNs will reduce your speeds a little bit because of the time it takes to encrypt your data. However, the VPNs on my list maintain fast enough speeds to stream IPTV in high quality with no buffering. ExpressVPN gave me the fastest speeds in my tests.
- I picked VPNs that provide strong privacy and security. Every VPN on my list has industry-standard security features, such as 256-bit AES encryption, a no-logs policy, a kill switch to prevent accidental data leaks, and protects against IP leaks.
- I chose VPNs that are easy-to-use apps. It shouldn’t take you more than 2–3 minutes to download and install any of the VPNs on my list, and they have such intuitive interfaces that even beginners can connect to a server and start watching IPTV in just a few seconds.
- I looked for VPNs that offer good overall value. The VPNs I recommend all have affordable plans, allow a minimum of 5 device connections, and come with some useful extra features for watching IPTV, like split-tunneling or a password manager. Every single one of them also backs subscriptions with a money-back guarantee.
Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut
- PrivateVPN. This VPN is excellent for bypassing ISP blocks and streaming IPTV, but its server network is pretty small compared to the other VPNs on this list. It also lacks extra features like split-tunneling.
- Proton VPN. Proton VPN works with a good variety of IPTV services, including Fubo, Peacock TV, ABC, and BBC iPlayer. However, it’s missing a smart DNS tool, and its money-back guarantee is prorated (so you’re still charged for every day that you used it up until the cancellation).
- TunnelBear. It’s a fun and easy-to-use VPN with a great free plan, but it doesn’t work with some top IPTV services, like Disney+ and ESPN+, and its free plan has a very strict data cap. I also don’t like that it doesn’t come with a money-back guarantee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really need a VPN for IPTV?
Using a good VPN for IPTV can have many benefits. A VPN encrypts your data, so nobody else, including your ISP and government, can see what you’re streaming and where. A VPN can also sometimes improve your speeds by preventing bandwidth throttling. Last but not least, VPNs can bypass ISP blocks and access IPTV services from anywhere in the world.
How do I get a VPN to work with IPTV?
To watch IPTV with a VPN, just follow these 3 simple steps:
- Get a good VPN for streaming. I recommend ExpressVPN, which works with all popular IPTV services and provides the fastest speeds on the market.
- Download and install the VPN app. You can find the app in your device’s app store or on the provider’s official website.
- Open the VPN app and connect to a server. You’re all set! You can now watch IPTV more securely.
Why doesn’t IPTV work when I’m connected to a VPN?
Not all VPNs are good for watching IPTV. This is because, for legal reasons, many IPTV services block VPN IP addresses to stop people from bypassing geo-restrictions. However, the VPNs on my list have all been tested and confirmed to work with popular IPTV services. They also constantly rotate their IP addresses to keep up with IP blocks.
What’s the best free VPN for IPTV?
Most free VPNs don’t support streaming, and I don’t recommend using one to watch IPTV even if one does. This is because free VPNs usually have slow speeds, data caps, limited server selections, and lack important privacy and security features to keep you safe online. Some shady free VPNs even collect user data and sell it to third parties. There are plenty of affordable VPNs for IPTV, if budget is an issue.
