We regularly test 24 free VPNs for streaming, and the following five popular VPNs still fail to unblock Netflix:
Hotspot Shield
Hotspot Shield Free is the world’s most popular VPN service, with over 50 million downloads on the Google Play Store.
According to our tests with Hotspot Shield Free, the program offers fast speeds on computers and smartphones, but it does not unblock Netflix.
When we tried to access Netflix, we were redirected to a paywall encouraging us to switch to their paid product.
Proton VPN
Proton VPN is a great free VPN. It’s very secure, gets good speeds, and offers unlimited data usage.
Unfortunately, Proton VPN Free doesn’t work with Netflix. When testing Proton VPN Free, we found that it didn’t work to unblock Amazon Prime Video, Netflix US, Disney+, or Hulu.
Proton VPN works with Netflix, but only if you pay for a premium subscription. Prices start at $4.99so it’s not cheap at all.
Peternet
Betternet is another popular free VPN that also can’t access Netflix. In fact, during our testing with Betternet, we experienced very unstable speeds on their free US-only servers.
Although on some occasions we were able to unblock American Netflix on these free servers, we usually encounter the Netflix proxy error.
Bottom line: There are much better VPN services for watching Netflix.
OperaVPN
Despite its misleading ads.. Opera is not a VPNIt is a browser with a built-in proxy service and we do not recommend using it.
Although this browser sometimes works with Netflix, Opera itself is not a secure product.
This service has a long history of exposing users’ personal information through security vulnerabilities and WebRTC leaks.
Opera’s privacy policy states that it will not protect user privacy and explicitly states that third parties may process user data.
Rose Tremain is an acclaimed British novelist and short story writer renowned for her richly imaginative storytelling and masterful character development. Her work spans historical and contemporary settings, exploring themes of identity, belonging, ambition, and personal transformation. Widely admired for her literary craftsmanship, she is regarded as one of the United Kingdom’s most distinguished contemporary authors.