Best VPN for Apple TV

Apple logo, Apple TV remote control and a VPN shield icon inside of a trophy being interviewed by media as a winner of VPN competition
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Summary: The Best VPN for Apple TV

With Apple TV you can easily watch movies and films online on your television. A VPN will protect the insecure connection between your Apple TV and the internet. A VPN provides you with online safety, anonimity, and freedom. The three best VPNs to use on your Apple TV are:

  1. ExpressVPN
  2. NordVPN
  3. Surfshark

If you want to get started with a VPN right away, we recommend NordVPN. This provider is incredibly secure and also quite cheap.

Want to know more about Apple TVs and how to stream safely with a VPN? We’ll be discussing this and more in our complete article below.

An Apple TV essentially transforms a normal TV into a smart TV, so you can play movies and series straight from the internet. Unfortunately, all internet traffic on an Apple TV is sent via an unprotected connection. This comes with a few safety risks.

VPN shield icon on a Apple TV iconFortunately, you can make your Apple TV a lot more secure by using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Additionally, a VPN will allow you to make more use of your Apple TV. After all, a VPN enables you to circumvent geographic restrictions.

A lot of streaming services, including Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and YouTube, enforce so called geo-restrictions. Netflix, for instance, offers different series and movies depending on the country you’re in. The American version of Netflix contains more shows than any other version and is only available in the US. Hulu, in turn, is completely unavailable when you aren’t in the United States. A VPN however, allows you to bypass a lot of these streaming geo-restrictions. You’ll find the very best VPNs for Apple TV down below.

The Best VPN Services For Apple TV

A good VPN is safe, reliable, fast, user-friendly and has servers in a large number of countries. Speed is especially important when you’re looking for a VPN for Apple TV, because streaming series and movies will be a real pain with a slow connection. After all, you don’t want to wait an eternity for your favorite show to buffer.

Furthermore, the number of servers and server locations a VPN offers is of importance. After all, the more server locations, the more content you’ll be able to unblock. If you want to see specific online pages, you’ll need to connect to a server in a country that shows this content. Therefore, if you wish to unblock content from different countries, you’ll need a VPN with servers in all those places.

With these considerations in mind, we picked three great VPNs for you to try. These premium providers are all perfect for your Apple TV.

ExpressVPN: watch movies and series quickly and safely

ExpressVPN is quite possibly the best VPN provider out there. This provider offers user-friendly software and high connection speeds. ExpressVPN’s software is available for Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android, and Linux. ExpressVPN is especially suitable for bypassing geographic restrictions, because the VPN has thousands of servers all over the world.

On top of that, ExpressVPN offers a clear and easy-to-follow guide for setting up a VPN connection on your Apple TV. In short, ExpressVPN is definitely one of the best VPN providers for Apple TV. Moreover, you can try out ExpressVPN to see whether it’s the right provider for you, by making use of their 30 day money-back guarantee.

ExpressVPN
Deal:
Great discount on annual subscription + 30-day money-back guarantee!
From
$6.67
8.9
  • Very easy to use VPN
  • Perfect for anonymous browsing, downloading, and streaming (i.e. Netflix)
  • 3000+ servers in 94 countries
Visit ExpressVPN

NordVPN: extra protection for Apple TV

NordVPN is a slightly more affordable premium VPN provider compared to ExpressVPN. It’s also one of the safest options out there. NordVPN offers (double) military grade AES 256-bit encryption. This is considered a very safe type of encryption. In other words, you’ll be able to use your Apple TV without risking your online privacy or safety.

Furthermore, NordVPN offers very intuitive and user-friendly software. This makes the VPN easy to use, even for first-time VPN users. Apart from offering great value, NordVPN also gives all of its customers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

NordVPN
Our pick
Our pick
Deal:
Only $3.29 a month for a two-year subscription with a 30-day money-back guarantee!
From
$3.29
9.3
  • Excellent protection and a large network of servers
  • Nice and pleasing application
  • No logs
Visit NordVPN

Surfshark: stream more for little money

If you’re looking for an affordable VPN that competes very well with its premium competitors, Surfshark is the answer. Considering Surfshark’s very competitive price, its speeds are impressive to say the least. Especially the US servers performed great in our tests. This is great for people who like to use their Apple TV to use American streaming services, such as Netflix and Hulu.

Surfshark doesn’t have as many servers as ExpressVPN and NordVPN, but it still offers plenty of choice in locations. This makes Surfshark a very suitable VPN for unblocking purposes. Surfshark, too, offers a 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to try it out before committing to a lengthy subscription.

Surfshark
Deal:
Safe and anonymous internet for only $2.30a month
From
$2.30
9.0
  • Very user-friendly and works with Netflix and torrents
  • 30-day money-back guarantee. No questions asked!
  • Cheap with many extra options
Visit Surfshark

Can I Use A Free VPN For Apple TV?

The best VPNs for Apple TV are all paid options. Many people would prefer to use a free VPN. Unfortunately, many free VPN providers log user data or aim to sell your personal information. Some free VPNs even infect your device with malware.

Besides these risks to your online privacy and safety, many free VPNs have a data or speed limit. If you wish to use your VPN for streaming on your Apple TV, this can cause all kinds of troubles. You’ll need to let series and movies load for much longer, and you might not even be able to finish watching your show, since you’ll quickly reach the data limit.

Due to these issues and limitations we advise you not to use a free VPN for your Apple TV. However, free VPNs can be useful when you’re still trying to figure out whether you want to start using a VPN in the first place. Simply try out one of them and see whether you like it. If you do wish to do this, make sure to check out our top 5 free VPN services to learn all about the safest and best free VPN options.

What is the Advantage of Using a VPN For My Apple TV?

A VPN offers many advantages. Most of these fall into one of three categories: safety, privacy, and freedom.

Advantages of using a VPN provider infographic

  • Safety: Plenty of companies and governments on the internet are trying to create a “digital profile” on you. Hackers, too, are after your personal information, such as your bank account. A VPN will encrypt your internet traffic, making it much harder for companies, governments and hackers to obtain your data. Therefore, you’re much better protected online with a VPN.
  • Privacy: A VPN hides your IP address. This means websites will have a harder time attributing your online activities to you: they won’t be able to uncover your identity as easily. This means using a VPN increases your level of anonymity and privacy.
  • Unblocking/freedom: Most people use a VPN to circumvent geographic restrictions. By using a VPN you can get access to content that would normally not be available in your country. This enables you to access the American version of Netflix outside of the US and BBC iPlayer outside of the UK, for instance. VPNs can also help combat other forms of censorship.

Setting Up a VPN on Your Apple TV

You can install a VPN on your Apple TV in different ways. The most effective way is to install the VPN on your router. This will protect all devices connected to this router by routing them through the VPN’s servers:

VPN on a router Apple TV connection infographic

Another option is setting up a virtual router on your Windows or Mac PC. You can run a VPN on your device and then connect your Apple TV to it by setting the device up as a hotspot. As soon as you connect your Apple TV to this hotspot, your Apple TV will also be connected to your VPN:

VPN on a virtual router Apple TV connection infographic

Do you want to know how to install a VPN on your router? Then read our in-depth guide. If you’d rather set up a VPN on a virtual router on your Windows computer, you can read all about that right here.

Final Thoughts

With a VPN running on your Apple TV, you’ll be more anonymous and secure on the internet while also enjoying more online freedom. You’ll be able to watch more movies and series on your usual streaming services, all while maintaining your privacy. The three best VPNs for your Apple TV are ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Surfshark. These providers will help you get the most out of your Apple TV.

Best VPN for Apple TV - Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have a burning question that needs a quick answer? Check out our FAQ below. Simply click a question to see the solution.

ExpressVPN consistently ends up being the best VPN in our tests. For Apple TV, too, this is the best choice, due to ExpressVPN’s high speed and extensive server network. NordVPN is also a very good choice for your Apple TV, since this provider is particularly strong when it comes to security.

We don’t recommend using a free VPN with your Apple TV, because their data and speed limits won’t enable you to stream all the content you want. Unfortunately, free VPNs sometimes even turn out to be very unsafe. Would you like to try out a free VPN regardless? Check out our top 5 best free VPN services for the safest and best ones.

To connect your Apple TV to a VPN, you can install the VPN on a router and then connect your Apple TV to that router’s network. Your Apple TV is now connected to the VPN and automatically secured. Read our article on setting up a VPN on a router if you’d like to learn how to do this step-by-step.

A VPN reroutes all your data traffic through a secure, encrypted tunnel connection. This means your data will be protected from third parties, so no one can watch what you’re doing on your Apple TV. You’ll be more anonymous online with a VPN.

Using a VPN allows you to go online in a safer and more anonymous way. However, VPNs also give you the ability to bypass geographical blocks. You could, for example, get access to the Netflix library of other countries if you use the right VPN.

Tech journalist
Nathan is an internationally trained journalist and has a special interest in the prevention of cybercrime, especially where vulnerable groups are concerned. For VPNoverview.com he conducts research in the field of cybersecurity, internet censorship, and online privacy. He also contributed to developing our rigorous VPN testing and reviewing procedures using evidence-based best practices.