If you’re trying to watch YouTube TV outside the US, the streaming service won’t work. This is because YouTube only has the rights to broadcast its content in the US.
This can be frustrating as even if you’re a paying subscriber, the streaming service still won’t work if you’re away from home or on vacation. Meaning you’re paying for something; you can’t even use.
The reason you can’t access YouTube TV when outside the US is because the streaming service is blocking your connection.
Because YouTube TV only has the rights to broadcast its content in the US, it needs to actively prevent anyone outside the US from accessing the YouTube TV platform. If it didn’t do this, it would be breaching strict copyright and licensing agreements relating to content ownership and broadcasting rights. These sorts of breaches are more often than not met with massive financial punishments. Obviously, YouTube doesn’t want this to happen, so it blocks anyone outside the US from accessing YouTube TV.
The good news is there is an easy way to get around these blocks. If you’re outside the US, all you need to do is trick YouTube TV into thinking you’re accessing the platform from within the United States. And the easiest way to do this is with a reliable VPN.
A VPN will allow you to make it look like your internet connection is coming from a different location. It does this by changing your IP address (more below). But it’s important to know that not every VPN will work with YouTube TV. This is because YouTube tries to block VPNs from accessing the platform. Lesser VPNs, especially free VPNs, struggle to get around these blocks.
Fortunately, there are VPNs out there that work well with YouTube TV. To help you watch YouTube TV anywhere in the world, we’ve tried and tested a number of different VPNs and come up with a list of what we think are the best VPNs for YouTube TV. You can find our guide below.
See also:
What makes a good VPN for YouTube TV?
There are a number of characteristics and features that differentiates a good VPN for YouTube TV from a bad one. These are speed, security, servers and the ability to work reliably with YouTube TV.
The speed of a VPN is important because it’s integral to how a VPN works. When you use a VPN, your data is rerouted via the VPN servers and then sent to where you want to make a connection. For example, when you use a VPN to connect to YouTube TV, instead of the request going directly from your device to the YouTube TV servers, it goes from your device to a VPN server and then to YouTube TV. If this process isn’t fast, it will cause latency which will mean YouTube TV will stutter and constantly buffer, ruining the viewing experience.
The best VPNs for YouTube TV also need to be incredibly secure. An added benefit of using a VPN is it gives you an anonymous internet connection. This means you can surf the web without anyone being able to track you or see which online service you’re visiting. It also helps to prevent YouTube TV from identifying you’re using a VPN to watch the streaming service, meaning it’s more likely to work reliably with the platform. A VPN that isn’t secure will quickly be identified by YouTube TV and blocked.
The best VPNs have servers all over the world. The software is reliant on its network of servers as these are what reroute your online data when trying to watch YouTube TV outside the US. The best VPNs for YouTube TV will have servers all over the world and will have numerous US-based servers in different States. This gives you more variety and options to connect to a server and stream YouTube TV anywhere in the world. Bad VPNs don’t have as many servers, limiting your options.
The most important feature a VPN must-have for YouTube TV is it must have measures in place to ensure it works reliably with the streaming service. Because YouTube TV blocks VPNs from accessing the platform, a lot of bad VPNs struggle to get around these blocks, meaning you may spend money on a VPN that won’t even work. The best VPNs have measures in place to ensure this doesn’t happen and allow you to watch YouTube TV reliably no matter where you are.
How do we test the best VPNs for YouTube TV?
We test the best VPNs for YouTube TV over multiple criteria:
- We test how secure the VPN is: We do this by running it through DNS leak tests. If the VPN has a DNS leak issue, it has an issue with its security, as internet service providers (ISPs) can still potentially see your online data. The best VPNs don’t come across these sorts of issues.
- The number of servers: The best VPNs have thousands of servers around the world. The more servers, the better. Lesser VPNs, especially free VPNs, don’t have many servers meaning there’s less opportunity for you to surf the web anonymously.
- Speed: We measure the speed of a VPN by doing speed tests for multiple servers worldwide. We then compare this to our base internet speed with a VPN turned off.
- Compatibility with streaming services: A critical use case for VPNs is the ability to access geo-blocked streaming services. Unfortunately, these services try and prevent VPNs from accessing their platforms. The best VPNs have measures in place to get around these blocks. When testing a VPN, we try it with several geo-blocked streaming services. The best VPNs will allow you to watch all the leading streaming services worldwide.
- Price: Based on our research, the average cost of the top 20 VPNs is $4.33/month. We use this as a comparison when looking for the best-value VPNs.
- Devices: VPNs are usually compatible with more than one device simultaneously. Obviously, the more, the better.
The best VPNs for YouTube TV
1. ExpressVPN 🥇
Why You Should Use ExpressVPN? It’s the fastest and MOST reliable VPN of 2023
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 10-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
- ✅ Easy-to-use app
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- ❌ Expensive
Special Offer for you!
Get 3 extra months free when you sign up for a 12-month ExpressVPN plan. That’s 15 months in total for the price of 12.
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
- $6.66/month for 15 months
- $9.99/month for 6 months
- $12.95/month for 1 month
ExpressVPN ($6.66/month) is still the best VPN. And importantly, it ALWAYS has servers that are open with major streaming sites such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video, etc.
ExpressVPN is usually very good at playing Cat and Mouse with online streaming sites. 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 prevents its IPs from getting blacklisted for “abnormal” usage in the first place.
Check out our full ExpressVPN review.
Special Offer for you
(30-day money-back guarantee)
2. NordVPN 🥈
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
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 for you!
Sign up for a 3-year plan with Private Internet Access and save 83% + 3 months free. That works out at $2.03/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
- $3.49/month for 2 years
- $6.99/month for 1 year
- $11.95/month for 1 month
NordVPN is the most widely-used VPN in the world. And it’s 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 a 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 tunneling 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.
Read our NordVPN review.
SPECIAL OFFER – SAVE 70%!
(30-day money-back guarantee)
3. Private Internet Access
The BEST low-cost 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 for you!
Sign up for a 3-year plan with Private Internet Access and save 83% + 3 months free. That works out at $2.03/month.
Number of servers: 25,000+ | Speed: >75% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 70 in 74 countries | Devices supported: 10 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $2.03/month for 3 years
- $7.50/month for 6 months
- $11.99/month for 1 month
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-day 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).
Special Offer – Save 83%
(30-day money-back guarantee)
4. Ivacy
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ Dedicated streaming servers
- ✅ 5-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
Cons
- ❌ Only 5 devices
- ❌ Sometimes runs slow
- ❌ Occasionally block by streaming sites for several days
Special Offer for you!
Sign up for Ivacy and enjoy a 7-day trial with no strings attached
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
- $1.16/month for 5 years
- $3.50/month for 1 year
- $9.99/month for 1 month
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.
Special Offer – 7-day FREE trial!
(30-day money-back guarantee)
5. CyberGhost
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
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
Take advantage of CyberGhost’s 1-day FREE TRIAL!
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
- $2.75/month for 3 years
- $3.69/month for 2 years
- $5.99/month for 1 year
- $12.99/month for 1 month
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.
SPECIAL OFFER – 1-DAY FREE TRIAL
(30-day money-back guarantee)
Does YouTube TV block VPNs?
Yes, it does. YouTube TV tries to block the IP addresses provided by VPNs.
It does this because if someone was able to watch YouTube TV outside the US with a VPN, this could result in the streaming service being in breach of the copyright and licensing agreements it has in place with its content partners. And as explained above, these breaches are often very serious and result in huge fines.
The way YouTube TV blocks VPNs is all to do with the IP addresses the VPN provides. Usually, only a household of devices will connect to YouTube TV via the same IP address. This is around 8 to 10 devices. Because VPNs have large numbers of customers, they often have to share IP addresses between them. Now there are hundreds or even thousands of connections coming through to YouTube Tv via the same IP.
YouTube TV will deem this as an abnormal amount and will recognise the IP has been provided by a VPN. In which case, it will block it. Over time, if the VPN doesn’t have measures in place to prevent this from happening, all of its IP addresses will be blocked, and the VPN will no longer work with YouTube TV.
Free VPNs are especially susceptible to these blocking techniques as they don’t have the finances to ensure they constantly refresh and update their available IP addresses.
Is there a VPN that works with YouTube TV?
Yes, there is. There are a number of VPNs that work with YouTube TV.
These VPNs have measures in place to ensure they don’t have all of their IP addresses blocked by YouTube TV.
From our testing, we’ve found the best VPNs for YouTube TV are ExpressVPN ($6.66/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month). We’ve been using them to watch YouTube TV reliably in New Zealand for years.
Both ExpressVPN ($6.66/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) play a game of cat and mouse with YouTube TV. Although unlikely, if an IP address provided by these VPNs gets identified and blocked by YouTUbe TV, these VPNs will close that IP address and open a new unblocked one.
This will allow you to watch YouTube TV reliably with a VPN anywhere in the world.
Can I watch YouTube TV outside the US?
Officially, no, you can’t. YouTube TV is only available in the US. But with a VPN, you can watch YouTube TV anywhere in the world.
The best VPNs for YouTube TV ExpressVPN ($6.66/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month) allow you to select a country. Once selected, you’ll be given an IP address based in that location. This will make it look like you’re connecting to the internet from within that country.
To watch YouTube TV outside the US, simply download ExpressVPN ($6.66/month) or Private Internet Access ($2.03/month). Click on a server in the US, and you’ll be able to watch YouTube TV anywhere in the world.
You can even create a YouTube TV account outside the US following this guide.
YouTube TV not working with VPN?
If you have a VPN and it’s not working with YouTube TV, chances are the streaming service has blocked all the IP addresses your VPN can provide.
Don’t panic. There’s a lot of fixes you can try to resolve the problem.
We recommend upgrading to a better VPN that won’t allow this to happen to ensure you don’t come across these issues again in the future.
