How to Watch The Lord of the Rings Online: A Short SummaryThe easiest way to watch Lord of the Rings online is to subscribe to HBO Max if you’re in the US, or HBO Go if you live in Europe, Asia, or Latin America. HBO Go is widely available in most regions of the world, and features the entire trilogy in these countries.
If you’re out of luck and HBO Go and HBO Max aren’t available in your country, you can still watch the LotR franchise by using a VPN. You can also watch it on Netflix, no matter where you are.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to do this:
- Subscribe to a VPN service. We recommend CyberGhost to stream Lord of the Rings.
- Download the application from CyberGhost’s site.
- Install the software on your device.
- Connect to a server in the Netherlands, Turkey, or Belgium.
- Log into Netflix and browse for Lord of the Rings.
If you want to find out more about watching The Lord of the Rings online, keep reading our article.
One streaming service to rule them all, one streaming service to find them,
One service to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them;
In the land of the Internet, where the regional restrictions lie.
That’s our interpretation of the “One Ring” quote from Tolkien’s Fellowship of The Ring. We wish there was one service that bundled all Lord of the Rings movies together, worldwide. But alas, there isn’t.
Granted, there are a lot of platforms that let you stream Lord of the Rings, including HBO Max, HBO Go, Netflix, and (allegedly) Amazon Prime. The thing is, LotR isn’t available in all regions on these platforms, so you’ll need some workarounds to accompany Frodo and Sam on their journey to Mordor.
Where Can You Watch The Lord of the Rings Online?
The entire Lord of the Rings series is available on HBO Max, HBO Go, and Netflix. If you live in the US, you can sign up for an HBO Max subscription, and you’ll find the entire franchise there. If you live outside the US, HBO Go is most likely available in your country, as it has almost worldwide coverage.
Netflix has its own set of restrictions and complications. In most countries, only the first movie in the franchise (The Fellowship of the Ring) is available on Netflix. If you want to watch all three movies, you need Netflix Turkey.
If (these versions of) these platforms aren’t available in your country, you can still access them with the help of a VPN. A VPN can change your IP address with the press of a button, making it seem like you’re accessing the internet from a different country. Keep reading to find out how you can circumvent regional restrictions, and enjoy The Lord of the Rings trilogy regardless of where you live.
Watching The Lord of the Rings on HBO Max and HBO Go
HBO Max, and its regional variants, like HBO GO, offer the most reliable way to stream Lord of the Rings. Our research has shown that HBO offers the trilogy to any user on their services, without regional restrictions.
Even so, you might have a hard time accessing the platform itself. HBO Max, which is Warner and AT&T’s biggest streaming platform, is not yet available to users outside the US. In theory, you can circumvent this with a VPN (Virtual Private Network). A VPN will change your IP, making it look like you’re surfing the web from a different location.
However, actually subscribing to HBO Max can be a struggle, since you’ll need very specific payment methods. If you want to try it, you need to:
- Subscribe to a VPN service. ExpressVPN works best if you need to use a US IP address.
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- Download the VPN software from their site.
- Install the application on your device. Most VPNs have apps for Mac, PC, iPhone, and Android.
- Choose a server in the US from the app’s primary screen.
- Press “Connect” to change your IP.
- Go to HBO Max and sign up for an account with a US credit card.
This is where it gets complicated. HBO Max only accepts payment methods from the US for their monthly subscription. That means that, if you don’t have a credit or debit card from the US, you won’t be able to sign up for the service. There is no workaround for this policy, since HBO Max doesn’t accept gift cards.
If you don’t have a US payment method, you can still stream LotR from HBO. You’ll just need to sign up for an HBO Go account instead. HBO Go is a regional streaming service available in various regions:
- Latin America
- Central, Eastern and Nordic Europe
- South Asia
- Southeast Asia
- Spain
If you live anywhere else and want to join HBO Go, you can follow the steps above for using a VPN with HBO Max. Instead of a US server, use a server from one of those regions and create an HBO Go account this way.
Watching The Lord of the Rings on Netflix
While Lord of the Rings is no longer available on Netflix in the US, Netflix still streams the entire trilogy in other regions of the world, such as the Netherlands.
In some cases, Netflix only streams the Fellowship Of The Ring. For example, some Eastern European countries have access to The Fellowship Of The Ring on Netflix, while the two other sequels aren’t available there.
If you want to watch The Lord of the Rings on Netflix, but it’s not available in your country, you can follow these steps to watch it:
- Get a VPN subscription. We recommend CyberGhost to watch LotR on Netflix.
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- Download the VPN app. You should be redirected to a download page after you successfully signed up on CyberGhost.
- Install the app. To do this, you just need to follow the instructions of the installation wizard, like you would with any other software on your PC or Mac.
- Open the CyberGhost app and connect to a server from the Netherlands.
- Press “Connect.” You should now be assigned a Dutch IP.
- Go to Netflix.com and browse for “The Lord of the Rings.”
Online sources claim the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy is available on Netflix from different regions, including:
- The Netherlands
- Turkey
- Portugal
- Belgium
- Italy
We were only able to verify its availability in the Netherlands and Turkey. There are two possible reasons for this. On the one hand, it could be due to the VPN. Netflix is known for its VPN blocks, and not all VPN servers can bypass these regional blocks. This means that CyberGhost might be able to unblock the Dutch and Turkish versions of Netflix, but not the Portuguese or Belgian one. If you try this yourself, you might get lucky and be able to watch The Lord of the Rings on Netflix Belgium anyway, but we can’t promise it’ll work.
On the other hand, the Netflix library could’ve changed. The story of LotR and Netflix is complicated, and the movies are slowly disappearing from all regional versions of Netflix. That’s why we’d advise you to watch it there while you still can. This complicated relationship between LotR and Netflix is why we recommend using HBO Max, or HBO Go to watch The Lord of the Rings. You can read more about the situation with Netflix and LotR in this article by CBR.
Watching The Lord of the Rings on Amazon Prime
All three movies following Frodo’s withering quest to Mount Doom have a page on Prime’s library of movies. However, they’re not available in all regions. From our tests, we couldn’t find any VPN server where the movie pages displayed anything other than this message:
So if you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you can try to check for availability in your region. Maybe at a different point in the future, it’ll be available in more areas on Amazon Prime. But as of writing this article, you’re better off using HBO Max, HBO Go, or Netflix.
Best VPN to Watch The Lord of the Rings Online
If you want to watch The Lord of the Rings, but it’s not accessible in your country, we recommend using ExpressVPN to sign up for HBO Max or HBO Go.
ExpressVPN is our usual pick for unblocking movies or TV shows that are regionally restricted. It’s good at unblocking the US versions of streaming platforms, and it’s a reliable VPN with fast connection speeds. Not to mention, it has extra security measures like a kill switch to help you stay safe while enjoying your favorite shows.
The best VPN to watch LotR on Netflix
ExpressVPN is good at unblocking Netflix USA. However, since you won’t find LotR on Netflix USA, CyberGhost is a better option if you’d like to watch Lord of the Rings on Netflix.
Here’s why:
- It’s an affordable VPN service.
- It has a sleek, easy to navigate interface.
- It has enhanced security features.
- It’s suited for streaming.
CyberGhost might not help you defeat the armies of Mordor, but it’ll definitely allow you to enjoy all three of Peter Jackson’s masterpieces.
If you want to access HBO Go, Netflix Netherlands, or any other streaming platform where the story of the One Ring is told, CyberGhost is a good pick. You can even get a free trial for it, if you follow the steps in our guide.
Why You Need a VPN to Watch Lord of the Rings Online
A VPN might not always be necessary when watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy. HBO Go is available in a lot of regions, so chances are that you’ll only need to access HBO Go, sign up for an account, and enjoy Peter Jackson’s masterpiece of a trilogy.
However, if The Lord of the Rings trilogy isn’t available in your region, that’s because of distribution rights. When a streaming platform lets you watch a movie on their site, it’s distributing content to you. That means that they need distribution rights for your specific region to let you watch it. They might not have these distribution rights because they’re too expensive, or because someone snatched them already.
That’s where a VPN comes into play. If you use a VPN to change your IP, you can make streaming platforms think you’re browsing from a country where they distribute a show or movie. That piece of media will become available.
In other words, you’ll need a VPN to watch Lord of the Rings online if you don’t have access to HBO Max or HBO Go in your region, and you can’t find the movies on your local version of Netflix or Prime, either.
Buying and Renting The Lord of the Rings
Buying or renting the LotR franchise lets you enjoy these legendary movies whenever you want, without having to worry about availability on specific streaming sites or monthly subscription costs. All the movies following Frodo Baggins’ adventures in Middle-Earth are available on Amazon, where you can find the movies for rent ($3.99 per movie) or to buy ($14.99 per movie):
If you want to grab a good deal, you can also buy the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy from Google Play. At the time of writing this article, you can get all three movies for $15.99. If you have an iOS device, you can also buy the entire trilogy on iTunes, where it’s available for $29.99.
More Information About The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Peter Jackson’s retelling of The Lord of the Rings book trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien was a worldwide success when it came out and instantly became a fantasy classic. The movies follow Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, as well as seven other members of the Fellowship of the Ring, on their quest to destroy Sauron’s ring. The stakes are high: if they fail, they won’t be able to keep Sauron’s slumbering dark forces from waking and destroying Middle-Earth. It’s a captivating story, and it explores a complex fantasy world that generations of people have fallen in love with.
If you’ve never watched Lord of the Rings before, you can check out the trailer for the first movie here:
Good news for all you binge-watchers out there: it takes just over 11 hours to watch the extended versions of the three movies back-to-back. This is the perfect length for a full day filled with Middle-Earth’s most thrilling story.
If you want to feel the excitement of watching Gandalf and the Hobbits enter Moria for the first time, you might enjoy watching The Hobbit trilogy as well. The Hobbit follows Bilbo Baggins (Frodo’s second cousin, once removed) as he leaves his peaceful life in the Shire to embark on an epic adventure. Just like the LotR trilogy, the Hobbit trilogy is available on HBO Max and HBO Go.
Final Thoughts
The fascinating world of Middle Earth is brimming with adventure, magic, and intriguing stories. If you want to relive the wonder of watching The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, or The Return of The King, you can do so on:
- HBO Max in the US
- HBO Go in most parts of the world
- Netflix, in some parts of Western Europe
Let us know what you think of the movie franchise in the comments section below and make sure you also check out our article on how to watch Netflix with a VPN. It can open a whole new world of streaming opportunities for you. After you’ve finished your Lord of the Rings marathon, you can move straight on to these other big franchises:
- How to Watch Harry Potter Online
- How to Watch Loki online (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
- How to Watch Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings online (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
If you’re curious to see what the internet is asking about watching LotR online, check our FAQ section below!
To watch the Lord of the Rings online, you’ll need a subscription to either HBO Max (if you live in the US) or HBO Go (if you live anywhere else). If HBO Go isn’t available in your country, you can still access it with the help of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). A VPN will let you change your IP, making it look like you’re from a country where the platform is available. If you’re not sure about how to use a VPN, read our article to learn how to watch the Lord of the Rings online.
According to different online sources (and our own tests), the Lord of the Rings trilogy is available on Netflix, but only in select regions. Even in those regions, the movies are slowly disappearing from the platform. The trilogy isn’t available in the US, but you can stream the movie franchise on Netflix for now if you live in The Netherlands, Turkey, Belgium, or Italy.
If you don’t live in those regions, you can still watch LotR online with a VPN on Netflix, or simply on HBO’s streaming platforms.
If you live in the US, yes, you can watch Lord of the Rings on HBO Max. However, if you live outside the US, it’ll be pretty difficult to sign up for HBO Max, since they don’t accept non-US credit cards. The workaround is to sign up for an HBO Go account. HBO Go is available almost worldwide. Read our article about how to watch Lord of the Rings online to find out more.
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