Yahoo
Skip to main content
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Best VPN for Amazon Prime Video in 2025

VPN Shield logo with purple and orange coloring.

Surfshark

Surfshark is my top recommendation for Amazon Prime Video users because it worked on US servers as well as all of the international servers I tried during my testing, including locations like the UK, Canada, France and Germany. I was able to stream a wide variety of content on Prime Video, including Fallout, SpongeBob SquarePants and Road House without any issues using Surfshark. In addition to being a top-tier VPN for Amazon Prime Video, Surfshark can expertly unblock content on various international Netflix libraries , as well as content from other popular streaming sites like Disney Plus , Hulu and Apple TV Plus.

Surfshark makes streaming easy, even for big households. Most providers have a maximum limit to the number of VPN connections you can have on a single connection, but Surfshark has done away with this and offers unlimited simultaneous connections. If you've got a house full of streaming addicts who all want to watch their own shows, Surfshark is absolutely ideal. That's not all, though. If your streaming site or app is sneakily using your GPS location to lock you out of regional content, Surfshark on Android allows you to spoof the location you're connecting from to evade advanced geo-blocking.

It's also a solid choice if you're on a budget, but really only if you go with a longer-term plan. Surfshark's monthly plan is the most expensive monthly VPN subscription at $15.45 per month. But you can enjoy significant savings with its yearly plan ($48 for the first year, then $79 per year) or its two-year plan ($60 total for the first two years, then $79 per year). For that price, you get incredible value from Surfshark because it's fast, secure, easy to use across platforms, allows for unlimited simultaneous connections and is one of the most feature-rich VPNs we've tested.

Advertisement
Advertisement
surfshark.png

Surfshark

See at Surfshark

Proton VPN

Proton VPN also went undetected by Amazon Prime Video on US servers in addition to various international servers during my testing. Proton VPN's free tier is the only free VPN we're comfortable recommending due to Proton's spotless reputation as a privacy provider (in addition to a bandwidth limit-free experience) but we can't recommend it for accessing Prime Video. Although we've had success in the past with accessing some streaming providers through Proton's free plan, including several different Netflix regions, we weren't able to access any Prime Video content. This isn't surprising, as Proton clearly states that only the paid servers are regularly updated to keep ahead of streaming providers updating their VPN ban list.

If you want to access Amazon Prime Video content with Proton VPN, you'll need to purchase a subscription. Thankfully, even its paid plans are relatively budget-friendly, even if its long-term plans aren't quite as cheap as Surfshark's. Proton VPN costs $10 per month, $60 for the first year (then $80 per year) or $108 for the first 24 months (then $80 per year).

Advertisement
Advertisement

With Proton VPN, you'll get speeds plenty fast enough for streaming , along with access to servers in 117 different countries, an allowance of up to 10 simultaneous connections and some of the most solid privacy protections offered by a VPN. Proton's apps are fully open-source, and the company is based in the privacy-friendly jurisdiction of Switzerland, so it's an excellent choice if you value privacy and transparency in addition to its Amazon Prime Video streaming capabilities.

protonvpn.png

Proton VPN

See at Proton VPN

NordVPN

If you're looking for the fastest VPN for Amazon Prime Video, NordVPN is your best bet. However, NordVPN was only able to provide access to Amazon Prime Video from US servers. I was denied access to the content when connected to servers outside of the US because Amazon Prime Video detected the VPN on non-US servers. So if your Amazon account is US-based and you simply want to access your home Prime Video library while you're out of the country, then NordVPN is still a solid option.

Advertisement
Advertisement

NordVPN's blazing-fast speeds make it great for US-based Prime Video subscribers, and also for streaming on various other sites like Hulu, Disney Plus and Netflix. The 11% average speed loss we calculated in our latest speed tests was faster than any other VPN, including Surfshark's 17%, Proton VPN's 21% and ExpressVPN's 25% speed loss, making streaming with NordVPN a smooth experience without any buffering interruptions.

NordVPN is more expensive than most other VPNs, but you get a service with a ton of privacy features like Onion over VPN, double-hop connections, obfuscation and Meshnet, which allows you to securely share large files and route a remote connection through your own personal VPN server (without the need for additional equipment, special configurations or advanced networking knowledge). NordVPN costs $13 per month, $60 for the first year (then $140 annually) or $81 for the first two years combined (then $140 annually).

nordvpn.png

NordVPN

See at NordVPN

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is CNET's Editors' Choice selection as the best overall VPN . However, it falls short of topping this list of the best VPNs for Amazon Prime Video because, like NordVPN, it was only able to unblock Prime Video content on US servers. Amazon Prime Video detected the VPN and denied access to content when I was connected to any other server outside the US during my testing. That said, ExpressVPN is another excellent choice for US-based Amazon Prime Video subscribers who want to access their home library while out of the country .

Advertisement
Advertisement

In addition to giving you access to Amazon Prime Video's US-based content library, ExpressVPN is an excellent VPN for streaming content on a variety of other platforms, including Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Hulu and Netflix.

ExpressVPN is a premium VPN that's a bit on the pricey end of the spectrum, but you'll get the smoothest VPN experience across platforms along with some of the best privacy protections you can get from a VPN. The monthly plan costs $13 per month, the yearly plan goes for $100 per year (then $117 upon renewal) and the two-year plan goes for $140 total (then $150 per year upon renewal). For that price, you can connect up to eight devices at once and get access to servers in 105 different countries. Also included with ExpressVPN at no extra charge is Keys, the provider's fully fledged password manager . If you're not satisfied with the service, you can get a full refund if requested within the first 30 days of purchase.

expressvpn.png

ExpressVPN

See at ExpressVPN

What is the best VPN for Amazon Prime Video right now?

Editors' note, Feb. 22:We're currently retesting and overhauling reviews of our top picks. To ensure we have a full picture when making comparative recommendations, we're saving a complete update of this page until we've concluded the testing. In the meantime, you may see some discrepancies between this page and our review pages; for the most up-to-date information, check out our reviews of each VPN service.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Surfshark is the best VPN for Amazon Prime Video, thanks to its ability to avoid detection in various international locations. It's a budget-friendly pick that delivers a ton of useful privacy features in addition to being especially adept at unblocking Prime Video content from across the globe.

Proton VPN is a close second and the only free VPN that CNET recommends. Proton VPN went undetected on Amazon Prime Video on each server location I tested. It also delivers plenty of speed for streaming and offers some of the best privacy in the VPN industry.

ExpressVPN is a good choice for US-based Amazon Prime Video users who want to access their full home library from abroad. It works well on US servers, but was detected by Amazon Prime Video during my testing on international servers.

NordVPN is the fastest VPN based on our in-house speed testing, so you shouldn't have issues streaming 4K content without buffering. However, like ExpressVPN, NordVPN only worked with Amazon Prime Video on US servers during my tests.

What is a VPN for Amazon Prime Video?

A virtual private network allows you to access content across the globe by sending your traffic through an intermediary VPN server, hiding your public IP address from the online services and sites you access, thereby making it look like you're connecting from a different city, state or country. Because sites like Amazon Prime Video see the IP address of the VPN server you're connected to, replacing your public IP address , it allows you to fool the location-based blocking that prevents you from accessing your favorite streaming sites from anywhere in the world. For instance, you can watch content from US Amazon Prime Video while traveling in the UK and vice-versa. Plus, VPNs keep all of your internet traffic private from your ISP at the same time by encrypting your data.

Amazon Prime Video on mobile device

James Martin/CNET

If you want to access your home country's content from abroad or watch movies and shows available in a different region while at home, a VPN is essential for Amazon Prime Video, especially if you regularly travel and want to keep viewing all of your online content. A good VPN for Amazon Prime Video is your all-access key to any geographically restricted streaming content, thanks to the ability to geo-locate yourself anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, you'll have to do a little bit more work to see the shows you want than you would have to if you're accessing, say, regional Netflix content. For all of the content you'd expect to be available, you have to make sure that the country you're connecting from matches up with the country your Amazon account is registered in. Thankfully, it's not a difficult thing to fix.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Once you've picked a region you want to access on Amazon Prime Video, you'll need to go to your Amazon account and by entering a home address in the country you intend to connect from. This changes which services you can access on Amazon, but you'll still need to take care of the IP you're connecting from too. This is pretty simple: just boot up your VPN and pick the country you want from the VPN selector (make sure you've actually chosen a VPN that supports that country!) before you go back to Amazon's website. Now, all you need to do is pick the regional Amazon site you want to access. For example, if you're trying to access German Amazon Prime shows, you should visit amazon.de. It's a much simpler process if you're trying to access content from your home country while on holiday. You could just access Amazon Prime normally from abroad, but you'll get a significantly reduced set of shows and films to watch. However, with a VPN you can appear like you're still connecting from your home country and get access to the full Prime Video library that you pay for.

Factors to consider in a VPN for Amazon Prime Video

Based on years of experience testing VPNs for all sorts of use-cases, these are the factors I consider to be the most important when choosing a VPN for Amazon Prime Video.

Ability to unblock Amazon Prime content

Not every VPN can give you access to Amazon Prime Video content. If you want to use a VPN for Prime Video, then the first thing you'll want to determine is whether the VPN you're considering can unblock Prime Video content. In my testing, Surfshark and Proton VPN were the best at accessing content from multiple regions, and ExpressVPN and NordVPN were capable of accessing US-based content. Most VPNs offer some sort of money-back guarantee, so you can try a few out to see which one works best for you.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Speed

Many VPNs may cut your base internet speeds by 50% or more , which can make for a rough streaming experience filled with buffering, poor picture quality or both. As long as you have a fast enough internet connection, a VPN that cuts your speed by 25% or less should be capable of delivering a smooth streaming experience.

Server network

The overall reach of a server network can help ensure you enjoy fast speeds and stable connections from anywhere in the world. That can be great for streaming a large selection of international content and for when you're traveling . But an even more important consideration than the size of a VPN's server network is that it has servers in the countries you want to access streaming content from. If you want to access content from Germany, but your VPN doesn't have German servers, then you're out of luck. Most VPNs have a list of the countries they have servers in on their websites. Be sure to check that the VPN you're considering has the server locations you need before making the purchase.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Privacy

Privacy is a top consideration for any VPN, whether you need a VPN for critical online privacy needs or if you just want to stream geo-blocked content. Your VPN should secure your online traffic with industry-standard encryption like AES 256-bit or ChaCha20 and include features like a kill switch , DNS leak protection, obfuscation and an audited no-logs policy. With these privacy protections in place, your ISP won't have eyes on your streaming activity or anything else you do online while connected to the VPN, and it shouldn't have any useful information to pass along to authorities if requested.

Price

We've found that most of the VPN market hovers around $5 to $15 per month or $40 to $140 per year depending on the plan you purchase. Price isn't necessarily an indicator of quality, as I've seen quality VPNs that are well equipped for streaming at every price point. In fact, the best VPN for Amazon Prime video is actually a budget option if you buy into the yearly plan. However, we wouldn't recommend you buy for any period longer than a year at a time. The VPN industry is fast-moving and which provider offers the best value for money can certainly change within a year. That's before you start considering VPN providers being bought up by bigger companies, going out of business or changing terms of service. Choosing a year-long plan means getting significant savings without being exposed to the risk of a provider's service potentially significant degradation.

How we tested VPNs for Amazon Prime Video

To determine the best VPN for Amazon Prime Video, I ran dozens of tests with various providers across devices including Mac , Windows and Amazon's Fire TV Stick . I connected to multiple server locations across the globe with each provider to identify in which regions the VPN was able to go undetected by Amazon Prime Video. I took note of how quickly the content loaded and how smooth the streaming experience was overall. Because speed is an important factor for data-heavy activities like streaming, I also took into consideration each VPN's speed performance.

Other VPNs we tested

PIA

Advertisement
Advertisement

Private Internet Access is an excellent budget-friendly VPN. However, it failed to give me access to any Amazon Prime Video library, including the US. If I was connected to any PIA server location and tried to stream Amazon Prime Video content, I got the error message telling me that the VPN was detected and I needed to disconnect in order to stream. PIA generally performs well at unblocking streaming sites, including regional Netflix variants, thanks to a 91-country-strong network list, so it's surprising that it couldn't unblock Amazon Prime Video. However, PIA's poor unblocking for Amazon Prime plus relatively underwhelming speed test results means that you're better off looking at another VPN provider like ExpressVPN or Surfshark as your first choice for a streaming VPN.

Mullvad

Like PIA, Mullvad was unable to trick Amazon Prime Video into thinking I wasn't using a VPN, no matter what server location I was connected to. It's an otherwise capable tool for streaming non-Amazon Prime Video content because it's super fast and can unblock content from most other streaming sites. It's also a solid cheap VPN with top-tier privacy protections. But again, if you came here to find the best VPN for Amazon Prime Video, you won't find it in Mullvad.

Amazon Prime Video VPN FAQs


Check out Yahoo's latest streaming advice, based on hands-on testing.

Yahoo Streaming Guides: Best streaming services | Best live TV streaming services | Best streaming services for sports | Best streaming deals | Best free TV streaming services | Best VPN for Streaming

Yahoo Streaming Reviews: Amazon Prime Video review | Apple TV+ review | DirecTV Stream review | Disney Plus review | ESPN vs. ESPN+ review | Fubo TV review | Hulu review | Hulu + Live TV review | Max Streaming review | Netflix review | Paramount Plus review | Peacock Review | Philo Review | Sling TV review | YouTube TV review

Advertisement
Advertisement
Mobilize your Website
View Site in Mobile | Classic
Share by: