The streaming market is limited here in NZ. We have access to excellent international services such as Netflix, Amazon and Disney+ but other massive streaming services like Hulu haven’t made it here.
Which means we’re missing out on some of the best film and TV shows on the market. Luckily, there’s a way to unlock streaming services from other countries. In this article, I am going to show you how you can watch Hulu in NZ.
The process is straightforward, and will give you full access to Hulu (not a pirate version of Hulu) and all of its content from the comfort of your NZ home.
See also
- How to sign up to Sharesies NZ
- How to watch Sky Sports Now outside of NZ
- Spark Sport not working with VPN? Here’s how to fix that!
How to watch Hulu in NZ: Quick guide
To watch Hulu in NZ, you need a VPN that is compatible with Hulu. Hulu is a US-based company, which means you need a VPN that has access to reliable and fast US servers.
- Create a new account with NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month)
- Download and install the new VPN app
- Open your new app and connect to a server in the US
- Go to hulu.com
- Create an account
- Start streaming Hulu in NZ
It’s that easy.
Why do you need a VPN to watch Hulu in NZ?
If you try and watch Hulu in NZ, you will run into an error that says “we’re sorry currently our video library can only be streamed within the United States.” This error is coming up because Hulu is a region-locked, US-based streaming service.
Hulu will only work with American IP addresses, and by using a VPN, you can spoof your NZ IP address (using end-to-end encryption) to make it appear as if you’re browsing the web from the US.
In theory anyway. In reality, Hulu is able to block some low-end VPNs from connecting to its servers, so we advise using a high-end VPN such as NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month). Check out our article on Hulu not working with VPN to learn more.
Why is Hulu not available in NZ?
Hulu is not available in NZ because of content licensing. It does not have the rights to stream its content in NZ, so it blocks NZ users. It does this by identifying and geo-blocking IP addresses.
Whenever you go online, you use an IP address. IP addresses contain information that defines where you are in the world when you connect to the internet. It’s a lot like an area code on a landline phone number.
When you connect to Hulu, it scans your IP address and ascertains where you are connecting from. If you are not in the US, your IP address will be blocked and you won’t be able to use Hulu.
To get around these geo-blocks, you need to fool Hulu into thinking that you are connecting from within the US. This is what VPNs do.
How does a VPN allow you to watch Hulu in NZ?
The primary way that Hulu blocks you from viewing its content outside of the US is by identifying your IP address. The best way to spoof your IP address is to use a high-end (end-to-end encrypted) VPN like NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month).
When you use a VPN to watch Hulu in NZ, all you need to do is select a server based in the US, and you will be assigned a US IP address.
This will fool Hulu’s geo-blocking technology and make it look like you connect to the internet from inside US borders.
You will no longer receive the “we’re sorry currently our video library can only be streamed within the United States,” error and the service will be available to you. You will now be able to stream the entire Hulu library from NZ.
Will any VPN work when trying to watch Hulu in NZ?
No. Cheap VPNs may work with Hulu some of the time, but eventually, Hulu will block them.
The reason for this is simple. In order for VPNs to keep their servers (IP addresses) working with streaming services like Hulu, they have to keep the number of users on each server (IP address) so low that Hulu won’t detect an abnormal number of account logins coming from the same internet address/connection.
This is obviously an expensive thing to maintain. Which is why cheap and free VPNs always get blocked by Hulu (and Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, et al) quickly. High-end VPNs like NordVPN ($3.49/month) or Ivacy ($1.33/month) and the others featured below, spend time and resources making sure their servers remain unblocked by Hulu and other popular streaming services.
If you want a reliable connection to watch Hulu in NZ, you need to choose a good VPN.
Best VPNs to watch Hulu in NZ
1. NordVPN
The best (& fastest) VPN of 2021!
Pros
- Fast servers
- No logs
- Thousands of IP addresses
- 6-simultaneous connections
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Easy-to-use app
Cons
- No refunds for purchases from iTunes/App store
SPECIAL OFFER – $3.49/month
Number of servers: 5,000+ | Speeds: >80% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 62 countries | Devices supported: 6 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
NordVPN is the most widely-used VPN in the world. And its easy to see why. It’s a polished app that delivers fast connections (more on this later) to a massive network of VPN servers.
It’s the most reliable at unblocking popular streaming services too – US Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, etc. This is because NordVPN hired full-time technical team (that’s responsible for monitoring its servers connections with popular TV streaming services) and has been aggressively investing in its network of IP addresses in key locations.
Another interesting thing to note is that NordVPN is an industry leader in its development of Nordlynx technology. Nordlynx is built using the WireGuard, a new VPN tunnelling protocol designed to outperform current standards (OpenVPN and IPSec). The benefits, according to NordVPN, are dramatically faster transfer speeds while connected to a VPN. My tests – New Zealand to London – confirm that Nordlynx is currently the fastest VPN on the market. However, the difference isn’t dramatic, a few Mbps is all.
2. Ivacy
The BEST low-cost VPN
Pros
- Fast servers
- Thousands of IP addresses
- Dedicated streaming servers
- 5-simultaneous connections
- 24/7 Live Chat
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- Only 5 devices
- Sometimes runs slow
- Occasionally blocked by streaming sites
SPECIAL OFFER: 7-DAY TRIAL ($0.99)
Number of servers: 1,000+ | Speed: >65% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 275 in 100 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
If you’re looking for an excellent VPN, with an even better price tag, Ivacy ($1.16/month) is a great option.
This VPN has all the features you need to stream BBC iPlayer, in HD, from any country in the world. I’ve been testing the app recently on Mac, PC, Android, iOS and FireStick and the results have been impressive – unlocking BBC iPlayer, US Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, etc. with ease.
The Ivacy app is a little different in regards to its UX (user experience). Instead of just selecting a UK server, you need to select the specific BBC iPlayer server. Don’t worry, this isn’t a bad thing – by connecting to a dedicated BBC iPlayer server, it simply means that you’re connecting to an IP address that Ivacy knows works with BBC iPlayer.
For an extra $1.99/month (£1.74) you can add-on a dedicated IP. This will buy you sole access to an IP address in a country of your choice, meaning you won’t have to share your IP (and speeds) with any other use. I don’t recommend this though, using the regular Ivacy servers is enough 95 per cent of the time.
3. ExpressVPN
A very reliable and fast VPN
Pros
- Fast servers
- Thousands of IP addresses
- 10-simultaneous connections
- 24/7 Live Chat
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Easy-to-use app
Cons
- Expensive
SPECIAL OFFER – 3-MONTHS FREE!
Number of servers: 3,000+ | Speed: >80% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 160 in 94 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
ExpressVPN is still one of the best VPNs you can buy. However, we’ve got it ranked in the number three spot for a couple of reasons. First of all, it’s the most expensive VPN on the market. This was understandable when it was also the fastest and most reliable VPN too. But now it’s not. NordVPN is. ExpressVPN has recently been struggling to unblock some big streaming sites – BBC iPlayer and BeIN Sports – too.
And importantly, it ALWAYS has servers that are open with major streaming sites such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video etc.
ExpressVPN is usually very good at playing Cat and Mouse with online streaming sites (apart from BBC iPlayer). Meaning, whenever one of its servers is blacklisted it creates a new one – giving its users a constant stream of servers that aren’t blocked. Needless to say, this is a valuable attribute if you’re looking for a VPN to unblock streaming sites.
Its app is easy-to-use and free to download on pretty much any device you can think of. Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, FireStick, Android TV, Roku, PS4, Xbox, Linux, even Apple TV (with a workaround). It’s got it all covered.
The app is another main reason this VPN is so good at unblocking TV streaming sites (that claim they block VPNs) is that its software takes a pragmatic approach to user management. While other VPNs tempt customers by promising them access to hundreds/thousands of servers in multiple countries, ExpressVPN does things differently.
With ExpressVPN you only have a handful of server locations to choose from. Once you select your location the app takes care of the rest. Assigning you to the fastest available server that’s not oversubscribed. This simple technique is so important, as it keeps ExpressVPN’s servers operating at lightning-fast speeds and prevent its IPs from getting blacklisted for “abnormal” usage in the first place.
4. Private Internet Access
The BEST mid-range VPN for streaming!
Pros
- Fast and reliable servers
- Thousands of IP addresses
- 10-simultaneous connections
- 24/7 Live Chat
- 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- Only 48 server locations
SPECIAL OFFER – SAVE 82%!
30-day money-back guarantee
Number of servers: 25,000+ | Speeds: >75% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 70 in 74 countries | Devices supported: 10 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
Private Internet Access is one of the leading no-log VPN services with over 1 million paying customers.
This VPN is one of the best in the industry at beating streaming sites’ VPN bans. It provides reliable connections with US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+ Amazon Prime Video, etc. It also allows 10 simultaneous devices to be connected to its servers at the same time, so you can share the account with your close friends.
If, for whatever reason, you’re not happy with Private Internet Access, there’s a 24/7 live chat support available to assist you with your problem. PIA also offers the industry-standard 30-days money-back guarantee.
From my tests (from New Zealand) I was able to get download speeds of 70 Mbps while connected to a UK server using the Private Internet Access VPN (my non-VPN speed is 100 Mbps).
5. CyberGhost
Pros
- 1-day free trial
- Reliable servers
- Thousands of IP addresses
- 7-simultaneous connections
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Easy-to-use app
Cons
- Expensive
- Average speed scores
SPECIAL OFFER – 1-DAY FREE TRIAL
30-day money-back guarantee
Number of servers: 6,000+ | Speeds: >65% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 200 in 90 countries | Devices supported: 7 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
CyberGhost is one of the more established VPNs on the market. It has a well-established, and well-tested global network of servers that perform well.
From my tests over the past several months, CyberGhost has no trouble at unblocking major streaming services – US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max etc. This VPN performed well at maintaining download speeds, well above 65 per cent of my regular (non VPN) ISP speed.
That said, there’s nothing really unique about the service. Which forces you to look at its price-point. And there’s nothing special here. Its short-term $12.99/month price tag puts is well above the industry average of $10.10/month. Similarly, its long-term $2.75/month for 3 years deal isn’t much of a “deal” either.
Oddly, CyberGhost’s most unique feature is its a 1-day, no obligations, free trial. This is an appealing offer to customers who are new to VPNs. However, it’s important to remember that most reputable VPNs will offer customers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so try not to be too seduced by the offer.
