The best smart TV VPNs of 2024: Expert tested and reviewed

VPN services are designed to improve your online privacy. VPNs create encrypted tunnels between your device and internet services, masking your IP address and making it more difficult to eavesdrop and monitor you. They are not a silver bullet for security but, instead, are an important tool in our arsenal.

For smart TVs, a VPN can stop your internet service provider (ISP) from monitoring what you are streaming, and where from, and can also be used to change your location. In some cases, this can help you avoid throttling or give you the ability to bypass geolocation blocks — although the latter is a legally gray area.

See also: What is a VPN and why do you need one?

Many providers recommended in this list have been subject to in-depth testing and reviews by the ZDNET team. We’ve been talking about VPNs for years, spoken with their management and their users, and developed a generally favorable impression.

ZDNET tests VPN services from multiple locations, but we can’t test from all locations. Every home, community, local ISP, and nation has a different infrastructure.

We analyzed the best VPNs for smart TVs using the following criteria:

Performance: Our top VPNs must have a minimum level of performance. After all, there’s no point in using a VPN while streaming if your connection continually drops or lags.
Simultaneous connections: Many VPNs limit the number of devices you can connect through a service simultaneously. If you have a phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, or smart TV you want to use with a VPN, you need a service that allows at least five or six simultaneous connections.
Security: There’s no point in using a VPN unless its security protocols and encryption levels are up to scratch. We also ensured the development team behind each recommended VPN cares about improving security and patching reported bugs.
Kill switch: A kill switch prevents you from having an unprotected connection. It is an important feature for a VPN, as it protects you by preventing a return to a default Wi-Fi connection should your internet connection unexpectedly drop.
Geo-blocks and streaming: VPNs can be key to accessing local content and services while you’re away from home. We ensured that our top recommendations performed well given these factors and are unlikely to slow down your connection while streaming, including when you are running a VPN on your TV.
Platforms: What systems and devices can you run the VPN on? Our smart TV VPN recommendations naturally have to offer easy-to-use and intuitive apps suitable for this hardware. In particular, we always look for Android TV and Fire TV compatibility.
Support: As with any subscription software, you may encounter problems with installing apps, using the service, renewing, or canceling. We list VPNs with an available support team.
Countries and servers: In how many different countries does the VPN have servers? This can include physical and virtual servers, and whether there are enough — at least 50 or so — to provide variety.
Trial length and price: Each VPN we recommend has a solid money-back guarantee.

For a more extensive breakdown, check out our comprehensive VPN testing methodology page.

When you are selecting your new smart TV VPN, consider the following factors:

Price: You need to weigh the overall price of your new VPN plan. Try to take advantage of promotions, but ignore countdown timers — they typically are just marketing tools. While top-notch VPNs can cost upwards of $10 per month, many are available for only a few dollars.
Apps: When selecting a VPN, try it first to ensure you like its accompanying TV app. Some VPNs, for example, have great desktop software but are lacking elsewhere, meaning they are not as intuitive or easy to use.
Security: Choose a reputable VPN provider that emphasizes user privacy and security. Frequent patch updates, transparent disclosure of security incidents, warrant canaries, and no-logs policies are all important factors.
Simultaneous connections: If you’re paying for a VPN suitable for your smart TV, you might still want to use it across multiple devices, such as a desktop, a laptop, or smartphone. We recommend that you sign up for a plan supporting at least six devices. Many paid VPN plans now offer unlimited connections.
Contract length: You must also decide how long you want to use a VPN. If you opt for a two-year term, you tend to secure the best prices, but other options are also available. After you’ve made a selection, you typically have a 30-day money-back guarantee.

If the only reason you want to install a VPN is to mask your IP address and change your location to access a streaming content library outside your original location, then perhaps it is worth it. Considering how useful VPNs can be in protecting your online privacy outside of smart TV usage, we would recommend that you also use one on your PC and mobile device.

While there are free VPNs and free VPN plans, the majority will come with heavy restrictions on speed and server choice, and some providers might display ads or sell your information. Considering that you will likely want to access content such as TV shows or films, you will need a VPN without speed limits — and these tend only to be available with paid subscriptions.

Samsung devices have Knox, a built-in VPN client best suited for business use, as it requires manual configuration and is extremely basic. Most of the time, consumers will opt for a paid, third-party VPN service instead.

Regarding smart TVs, most models do not offer VPN services out of the box, including those from Samsung. Instead, you will need to find a VPN app in an Android TV hub when available (Tizen OS is unlikely to have VPN apps), install a VPN on your router or bridge the gap by using a device connected to your TV, such as an Amazon Fire TV Stick.

Yes, you can. In fact, one of the reasons VPNs are so popular is that they can be used to access different geo-locked content libraries across streaming services, including Netflix.

Keep in mind that this is a legally gray area, and you may be breaking the terms of service. Furthermore, if they detect VPN usage, some streaming services limit content libraries to only media available under universal licenses.

Free VPNs usually come with caveats: the sale of your data, extremely limited server networks, or throttled speeds. If you want to use a free VPN before taking the plunge and signing up for a paid service, the only free VPNs we recommend trying out with a smart TV are Proton VPN, Windscribe, and Hotspot Shield.

To check if your VPN is safe and working properly, first choose a reputable vendor known to have a strong security background.

Next, compare your IP address before and after enabling a VPN connection. You can find this under your device’s settings (typically under Wi-Fi) or by visiting whatismyipaddress.com. If they both display the same IP, your VPN may not be working properly.

You can also visit dnsleaktest.com to see if any DNS leaks are detected while you are using a VPN, which could be a sign that your information is being leaked.

Yes, smart TV VPN services are legal in the United States, but legality varies from country to country.

Check the laws of your location before using a VPN. Some countries, such as North Korea and Belarus, ban their use outright, whereas others, including Russia and China, frown upon it.

For a list of countries where VPN usage is illegal, check out NordVPN’s guide.

If our top recommendations do not appeal to you, or you are not sure that they will suit your needs, there are other VPNs suitable for use with smart TVs that are worth considering: