With 16% of the streaming device market share, Amazon's Fire TV products are a hugely popular and versatile way to enjoy the streaming services you pay for wherever you are – and a Fire Stick VPN is the perfect addition.
That's because although you can plug your Fire Stick into any HDMI port, almost all streaming sites are restricted to certain regions. For instance, if you're from the UK and signed up to Amazon Prime to watch Premier League matches, on holiday you'll find your subscription absolutely useless.
Enter the best VPN for Fire Stick. By installing a Fire Stick VPN, you'll be able to change your location to wherever you want, and watch whatever you like – no matter where you really are in the world. All you need to do is pick the best – and below are our five top services that worked best in our hands-on testing.
How to choose a Fire Stick VPN
If you're looking for a VPN for Fire Stick, a dedicated Fire Stick VPN app is essential – while it's possible to 'sideload' software, this may invalidate your warrantee and, in truth, it's a pain to do. You're best off using a VPN that is natively supported.
Then, it's important to make sure that your chosen provider can unblock the streaming services you subscribe to. If you're a Brit abroad, makes sure the VPN can unblock BBC iPlayer. Similarly, if you're a Netflix, Prime, or Disney+ subscriber, check that these platforms are supported.
Just because you'll be using your VPN on your Fire Stick doesn't mean you should sacrifice privacy, though. Our top five are all safe and secure, and will provide comprehensive protection on any device you install them on – not just Fire Stick. So, all that's left to do is read on and choose which Fire Stick VPN is best for you.
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(opens in new tab)Best Amazon Fire Stick VPN in 2022
In our complete ExpressVPN review, we found the British Virgin Islands-based provider to be the most well-rounded VPN on the market – and it just so happens that its Fire Stick VPN blows the rest out the water as well.
As soon as we installed Express's Fire Stick app, it was clear that it's super simple to use. With an interface that's identical to its desktop and mobile apps, there's no learning curve at all. Compared with some providers like NordVPN that have very different interfaces across devices, this is a welcome bonus.
Being easy to use is no good if the VPN can't unblock streaming sites, though. Thankfully, when we ran it through its paces, it was able to unblock multiple Netflix locations, BBC iPlayer, Prime video, Disney+ and more. And, with peak speeds of 560Mbps in our testing, you certainly won't be slowed down. The MediaStreamer Smart DNS function is also excellent.
Even though you might only be using it for streaming, we wouldn't recommend any VPN that had substandard privacy features. Express is built around industry-standard AES-256 encryption, and the in-house Lightway protocol is super secure and fully open source. Plus, all ExpressVPN's servers are RAM-only, meaning none of your activity can ever be stored or logged.
Many VPN users find that access to streaming sites can fluctuate, and certain servers may not work for certain sites. If you find this happening, ExpressVPN's support team is on hand 24/7 to resolve your issues. Out of all the providers we've tested, Express's support is the fastest, and has never failed to sort us out in a bind – be that suggesting a better server for iPlayer, or eradicating application gremlins.
One of our few complaints would be that ExpressVPN can only be used on 5 devices simultaneously. If you really need to have a VPN on an entire fleet of phones, PCs and streaming devices, a provider that offers unlimited simultaneous connections like Surfshark may be a better choice.
Overall though, if you're looking for a Fire Stick VPN that's great for streaming and will also provide the best experience on all you other devices, ExpressVPN is the one to go for.
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For those looking for a Fire Stick VPN that simply gets the job done, our Hotspot Shield review found this provider offers a back-to-basics option that gives you everything you need, and little you don't.
Perfectly suited to use on a streaming device where additional security features aren't going to be hugely necessary, Hotspot Shield uses its proprietary Catapult Hydra protocol to deliver great speeds. In our testing it topped out at a middling 375Mbps, so Hotspot's not quite the fastest VPN – but in practice that won't matter to most.
Hotspot's crowning glory, though, is the fact it could unblock every Netflix library we tested it with. That includes the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and even Japan.
Be aware, though, that we did have issues when trying to stream from iPlayer and other British sites, and Netflix performance isn't so good on PC and mobile, so make sure you're aware of this before purchasing. However, if Netflix on Fire Stick is all you need, we'd go as far as saying Hotspot Shield is a better choice than ExpressVPN.
What Hotspot Shield lacks in complexity and added features it makes up for with supreme usability. No, you won't get a raft of security preferences in the Fire Stick VPN app, but really, do you need them? As a plug-and-play streaming unblocker, it's a good choice.
So, if you just want to get set up with a speedy Netflix VPN that gets the job done, Hotspot Shield is a great option – and its exclusive $2.49-a-month pricing for Tom's Guide readers sweetens the deal.
Sign up now on the Hotspot Shield website (opens in new tab)
NordVPN is a huge name in cyber security for a reason. With great encryption, a huge ranger of global servers and apps for tons of devices, it's a safe pair of hands when it comes to staying safe online.
However, in our NordVPN review we found the provider to be excellent for unblocking streaming sites too, whether that's Netflix, iPlayer, Disney+, or just about any other you can think of. Translated that to a Fire Stick VPN, and you'll have an excellent bit of kit.
Nord's apps are generally good – we're not huge fans of the map interface its Android VPN and iPhone VPN, but others swear by it – but on Fire Stick there's a deviation from the norm. Unlike ExpressVPN and Surfshark, Nord's Fire Stick VPN app is quite different. It's not as polished, but in use it's perfectly serviceable. And, you'll still get additional privacy features like Double VPN and Onion over VPN.
Speeds are excellent, topping out at over 820Mbps (faster than ExpressVPN), so you'll never be left buffering, and overall it's a good choice. Plus, the support team are on hand 24/7 to give you hand if you need it.
Sign up now on NordVPN's website (opens in new tab)
For those on a budget but unwilling to sacrifice the overall quality of their Fire Stick VPN, Surfshark will be a very appealing proposition. While not quite up there with NordVPN or ExpressVPN, our Surfshark review found that it deserves our #3 overall rank – all for less than $2.50 a month.
We'll open this with a caveat: Surfshark has traditionally been a very reliable Fire Stick VPN, but in the last week or so we've seen the provider lose the power to unblock some UK services like iPlayer and Netflix UK. We've had word that a fix is in the works, and we'll update this as soon as we know more.
You’ll be able to stream in HD thanks to excellent connection speeds, and the large network of around 3,200 servers in 100 locations means you’ll have a great selection of content to choose from. If you’re having trouble finding a server that works, or notice that Surfshark isn’t working as it should, you’ll also have friendly 24-hour live chat support to help you out.
A great feature of Surfshark is its unlimited connections policy – that means you can cover virtually every device you own with one plan. Install it on your PC, phone, Fire Stick and router, and you’ll still be able give your logins to a couple of friends for them to use.
For a budget Fire Stick VPN, Surfshark is seriously impressive. While it lacks some of the in-depth configuration found in more expensive competitors, if you’re just after a VPN to stream with it’s a great choice.
Sign up now on Surfshark's website (opens in new tab)
Rounding off this list is CyberGhost. Known as an excellent VPN for streaming, CyberGhost’s app is available directly from the Amazon Appstore and works very well. With over 9,000 servers in 91 countries, you’re bound to find one that works well for what you’re after – find out more in our CyberGhost VPN review.
On top of that, CyberGhost offers filters to narrow down its servers to those best suited to streaming. This is a seriously neat usability feature, and we’d love to see other VPNs take note. Also, there’s a filter for P2P traffic, too, and this makes it a great torrenting VPN – but you probably won't be doing that on your TV.
In terms of streaming, CyberGhost is one of the best on the market with support for US Netflix, iPlayer, Prime Video, and more. However, CyberGhost isn’t further up this list because while on paper it’s excellent – and it does perform admirably in practice, too – the experience just isn’t quite as polished as, say, ExpressVPN’s.
However, if you want to get the maximum number of servers, great streaming support and a generous 45-day money-back guarantee, CyberGhost is a great bet.
Sign up now on CyberGhost's website (opens in new tab)
Best Fire Stick VPN FAQ
Do all VPNs work on Fire Stick?
As a somewhat niche device, the Amazon Fire TV Stick doesn’t have the widest range of VPN apps available, but each of the VPNs on our list – ExpressVPN, Surfshark, IPVanish, NordVPN and CyberGhost – have dedicated apps.
We’d recommend signing up for ExpressVPN to claim your three months free (opens in new tab). You’ll then be able to head directly to the Amazon Appstore to get the official VPN app, which will need no messing around in settings or time wasted with sideloading to get running.
The best thing about all five of these Amazon Fire TV Stick VPNs is that they make streaming content so easy – why make it harder for yourself?
Do you need a Fire Stick VPN?
If you want to access the widest selection of TV and film – yes, you do.
While content available in your home region may be enough for some, having a Fire Stick VPN is the only way to widen your options. You’ll have access to pretty much everything, from Japan’s Netflix anime to everything on BBC iPlayer.
Also, the true beauty of Amazon’s Fire TV Stick is its portability. If you’re on a business trip or a holiday, you’ll have all your favourite content available wherever there’s an HDMI port. But that might not be the case if you’re overseas without a VPN – suddenly that binge-worthy show won't be available to watch.
With a VPN you can make it seem like you’re back at home, and then you’ll be able to watch exactly what you want.
Can you get a Fire Stick VPN free?
If you don’t want to spend any money on unblocking overseas content you might be looking for a free VPN for Fire Stick. There are a few good free VPNs out there, but they all have their limits.
However, many free services fall at the first hurdle and can't actually access geo-blocked media. If it can, you'll almost certainly have a data cap to deal with.
In practice, a free VPN for Fire Stick isn’t going to do the job – and when you consider you can get a service like Surfshark for less than $2.50 a month (opens in new tab), it’s worth your while paying a little extra and getting a whole lot in return.
What else can a Fire Stick VPN do?
While the monthly cost of your Fire Stick VPN might be worth it purely for the extra content you can access, all of the options on this list can be installed on a range of devices, too.
Install a VPN on your PC, and you can torrent and stream in safety, plus avoid network throttling and sidestep sneaky trackers and hackers.
On your mobile device, you can also connect to vulnerable public Wi-Fi networks without worry, as all your traffic will be encrypted and anonymous.
