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Key Takeaways: Which Is the Best VPN for Sports?
ExpressVPN — Best VPN overall
NordVPN — Secure VPN with reliable buffer-free speeds
Surfshark — Best for multiple streaming devices
CyberGhost — Largest server network
Proton VPN — Best free VPN for live streaming sports
The popularity of live streaming sports is growing, and Americans lead the pack, spending more than 4.17 hours per week streaming sports related content, according to a 2022 study by time2play.com.1 However, licensing issues prevent many from accessing the live sports they love. The only way around this is to turn to the best VPN for sports. Virtual private networks bypass the geo-restrictions on sporting events by hiding your IP address, keeping you anonymous while letting you stream sports content from other countries. Furthermore, they circumvent internet service provider (ISP) speed throttling so you can watch the game free of buffering. Yet despite the market being awash with hundreds of VPNs, not all are up to the task. Our guide covers the five VPNs that impressed us the most for sports streaming. We will explore the size of their server networks, speeds, user privacy, device compatibility and, most importantly, how they handle sports streaming. For those in a rush, ExpressVPN is our pick for the best sports VPN, but if you want to learn more, read on.
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Learn more about our editorial team and our research process.
09/05/2022 Updated Windscribe pricing: the paid plan increased to $5.75 per month from $4.08. The Build-a-Plan minimum purchase also increased to $3 from $2. Also updated Windscribeâs free data cap to 15GB due to it offering 5GB extra permanently when you tweet about the service.
11/02/2023 Updated the article to reflect ExpressVPN’s expansion of server presence from 94 to 105 countries.
01/26/2024 Facts checked Weâve rewritten the article and adjusted our list to recommend the best available VPNs.
Cloudwards Editorâs Choice: ExpressVPN
Fast speeds are vital when streaming live sports, and youâll be hard-pressed to find many VPNs faster than ExpressVPN. It consistently tops our fastest VPNs list due to its proprietary Lightway protocol. ExpressVPN also rarely disappoints when it comes to unblocking geo-restricted sports streaming services worldwide. It has over 3,000 servers in 105+ countries. Finally, ExpressVPN has user-friendly apps that work on Android, iOS, Windows and macOS. For those with Samsung, LG or Apple TV, thereâs MediaStreamer, which you can read about in our ExpressVPN MediaStreamer review. You can try ExpressVPN with its 30-day money-back guarantee.
How to Choose the Best Sports VPN
The main function of a sports VPN is to change your IP address to the location where you want to stream live sports. We focused on four key factors when ranking the best sports VPNs.
- Streaming: The first consideration was the ability to unblock geo-restricted content. Sports streaming sites like Peacock, SlingTV andCBS Sports are unavailable worldwide. VPNs with more evenly distributed servers give you a better chance of unblocking these streaming sites. Bigger VPN server networks like CyberGhost also improve speeds because thereâs less server overcrowding.
- Performance: The second factor we considered was connection speeds. Sports fans can miss critical action if the video buffers when streaming live games, so the ideal VPN needs to be fast enough to avoid that. Streaming services like TiVo Stream offer live content in 4K, but without a fast VPN you wonât be able to get that quality.
- Security & Privacy: Thirdly, we looked at user privacy and security. The best sports streaming VPN should hide your IP address and stop your ISP from monitoring your online movements. The VPN should also maintain your privacy and encrypt your internet traffic, especially if you use public networks to stream.
- Compatibility: The fourth factor we considered was device compatibility. The VPN should work on devices capable of streaming, like Android, iOS, macOS and Windows PCs. An added bonus is if the VPN has alternate ways to work on smart TVs that donât support native VPN app installations, like ExpressVPNâs MediaStreamer.
The 5 Best Sports Streaming VPNs
With our criteria for choosing the best sports streaming VPNs settled, which five VPNs made the list? Weâll explain how each VPN performed with different streaming services during hands-on testing. Letâs dive right in.
1. ExpressVPN — Best VPN for Sports
ExpressVPN has U.S. servers that can unblock Major League Baseball on multiple streaming platforms. More details about ExpressVPN:
- Pros: Unlocks all streaming sites, Fast streaming speeds, Offers fast obfuscation
- Cons: None
ExpressVPN has 3,000 servers in 105 countries. Though CyberGhost dwarfs this, ExpressVPN still unblocked live sports sites like FuboTV in the U.S., Sportsnet NOW in Canada and BBC iPlayer in the U.K. without issues. It doesnât matter which corner of the globe you are in; you can stream your favorite team playing live anywhere. Buffering wonât be a problem with ExpressVPN, as it is the fastest VPN on our list. On six continents, we cranked up the streaming quality to 1080p or 4K and streamed video with no buffering. We recommend switching to the Lightway UDP protocol, as it is the fastest — you can read more about that in our ExpressVPN Lightway review. Furthermore, our tests showed that ExpressVPN layers impenetrable encryption on your streaming traffic, protecting you from snooping eyes. That gives you the peace of mind to enjoy your game even when using unsecured public WiFi. Since internet service providers cannot interfere with your speeds if your IP address is concealed, weâve found that we actually beat our unprotected speeds when using ExpressVPN. Combine all that with how easy the ExpressVPN app is to use across different devices and you can see why itâs the best. Catch your favorite NBA team on NBA League Pass on your Android, iOS, macOS or Windows devices. Plus, you can connect up to eight devices simultaneously when you subscribe to a plan for 12 months or longer.
ExpressVPN Hands-on Testing
ExpressVPN is smooth and easy to configure and navigate. You can activate the kill switch and select protocols from the app settings with a single tap. Finding the server you need is also a breeze, as they are arranged by continent and come with a responsive search bar. Alternatively, you can use a search function to locate the exact server you need quickly. We tested whether ExpressVPN could unblock Peacock TV sports using a New Jersey server and it worked on the first attempt. We also streamed MLB games and highlights without problems.
ExpressVPN Pricing & Value
ExpressVPN is an expensive service and comes with three price plans. The 12-month plan offers the best value at $6.66 per month and comes with an extra three free months. Itâs followed by the six-month plan at $9.99 per month and the one-month plan, which is the most costly at $12.95 per month. All plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. If you want to learn more, check out our ExpressVPN review.
2. NordVPN — Best VPN for Sports Streaming on a Budget
NordVPN has more than 5,000 servers that easily unblock sports sites like SportsNet Now in Canada. More details about NordVPN:
- Pros: Obfuscates servers, Fast NordLynx protocol, Unblocks live-streaming
- Cons: Obfuscated servers are slow
If ExpressVPN is The Flash, then NordVPN is Captain America holding that impenetrable shield. NordVPN is one of the most secure VPNs and rates highly in our most secure VPNs piece. It helps circumvent ISP speed throttling by routing your sports streams through an encrypted virtual tunnel that hides your IP address perfectly. NordVPN has more than 5,900 servers in 60 countries, making it the second largest network after CyberGhost. A high number of U.S. servers across 16 locations lets you bypass pesky NBA blackouts to catch live games as they happen rather than waiting for replays the next day. It also comes with the all-important obfuscated servers for regions and networks that restrict VPN use. These also help on work and school networks that may not want you to mix work with play. Connecting to any of the 16 available obfuscated servers offers you unrestricted access to…
