Best Fire TV Stick VPN in 2023: At a glance
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Hunting for the best VPN for your Fire TV Stick?
Combining a brilliant VPN service with an Amazon Firestick can unlock a wealth of new streaming services, TV shows, movies, and sport fixtures not usually available in your current location – supercharging the amount of content available to watch!
It can also allow you to connect to streaming services, like BBC iPlayer and ITVX, when on holiday or working abroad to watch shows like Death in Paradise, Doctor Who, Love Island, Happy Valley, and more as usual.
Amazon has added native support for VPNs across its Fire TV devices – that’s something you won’t find on rival set-top boxes from Roku, Google Chromecast, Sky TV, and Apple TV.
VPN support enables Firestick owners to enjoy a greatly expanded streaming experience. For those who regularly travel or live abroad, a VPN service will enable you to watch your favourite shows exactly as you would on the sofa at home.
Short on time? NordVPN is offering up to one-year of its VPN service for free, as part of its annual birthday celebration. On top of that, you’ll get 62% off your monthly subscription price.
If you don’t already have one of the popular Fire TV Stick streaming dongles from Amazon (or you fancy treating yourself with an upgrade) it’s worth checking out our round-up of the best Fire TV Stick deals. Fire TV devices can enjoy huge discounts, with prices slashed by over 50%.
If you’re already set up with Fire TV hardware, all you need is a VPN to unlock the vast potential of these streamers. Installing a VPN on Firestick takes just a few taps, but unlocks a number of new features, including the ability to avoid geo-restrictions and stream boxsets, blockbusters and sports that would usually be inaccessible in your current location.
In our testing, the best VPN for Amazon Fire TV Stick is NordVPN.
This top-rated Virtual Private Network has a beautifully-designed application hosted in Amazon’s Appstore as well as a plethora of advanced features – including a kill switch and multi-hop connections. But crucially, NordVPN offers all of this at a competitive cost.
Better still, the 30-day money-back guarantee serves like a free trial, so you should have no concerns about signing up!
1/ NordVPN – Get 1-year extra FREE + 62% off
View Deal
NordVPN has a gorgeous app for Fire TV ready to install from Amazon’s App Store – making it the ideal companion for any streamer. NordVPN has launched its birthday sale! For a limited time, get either 3 months or 1 year for free when you purchase a VPN subscription. This free gift is applied at checkout alongside a whopping 62% off!
24/7 Customer Support: Yes | One-Month, One-Year, and Two-Year Plans Available | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: Yes
2/ ExpressVPN – Get 3 months FREE + 49% off
View Deal
Not to be outdone, ExpressVPN is offering 3 months for free. On top of that, the remaining months of your subscription will be discounted by a whopping 49% too!
24/7 Customer Support: Yes | One-Month, Six-Months, and One-Year Plans Available | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: Yes
3/ CyberGhost VPN – Get 4 months FREE + save 84%
View Deal
CyberGhost is also offering free subscription for new subscribers. It’s also so confident about its VPN service that it boasts an unmatched 45-day money-back guarantee!
24/7 Customer Support: Yes | One-Month, One-Year, Two-Years, and Three-Year Plans Available | 45-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Regardless of which VPN service you settle on, you’ll need to subscribe online to unlock the best discounts and deals. Once that’s done, you’ll be able to download the VPN app from Amazon’s App Store on your Fire TV device to bypass geo blocks and watch sports, shows and movies from around the world. Of course, your subscription doesn’t just cover the Fire TV app – you’ll be able to sign-in on a multitude of other devices using the same login details at no extra cost too.
The best VPNs we’ve rounded up in this guide offer apps for iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Linux, macOS, Wi-Fi routers, and much more.
It’s worth noting that installing a VPN onto your Fire TV Stick isn’t just about streaming new shows from other countries.
VPNs encrypt everything beamed to and from your Fire TV – securing your data from any prying eyes, including your internet service provider. It can also allow you to bypass restrictions on internet speed imposed by your broadband provider, so despite the marginal impact on download speeds from rerouting your data via servers around the world, you might actually see an improvement in your streaming too!
With a good VPN installed, you’ll see a nominal impact on connection speeds too, so you’ll still be able to stream in 4K Ultra HD quality without any buffering. In fact, in some instances, a VPN can unlock better download speeds for you.
If you want a little more detail about the advantages of installing a Virtual Private Network on Fire TV, and some of the other options on the market, scroll down for more details. We’ve also got an in-depth look at NordVPN on Fire TV and what makes it such a good choice further down this guide too. But if you’re ready to install the best VPN for Fire TV onto your streaming gadget right now, you can find the best NordVPN price here.
How to install a VPN on Fire TV Stick
Unfortunately, not all Fire TV Stick models are compatible with a VPN. The good news is the vast majority of Amazon streaming devices can support a VPN, although those with older hardware might need to consider an upgrade. You’ll need one of the following Firestick devices to use a Virtual Private Network…
- Fire TV Stick (2nd Generation)
- Fire TV Cube (2nd Generation)
- Fire TV Cube (1st Generation)
- Fire TV (3rd Generation, Pendant Design)
- Fire TV Stick 4K
- Fire TV Stick Max
All good? Perfect, now to install your choice of Virtual Private Network.
All of the providers listed in this article offer dedicated applications for the Fire TV Stick, which makes it much easier to install. If you’ve settled on another provider that doesn’t offer an app in Amazon’s App Store, then there is a workaround. Most suppliers offer an application for your Wi-Fi router, which ensures that every device that’s connected to your home Wi-Fi network is routed via a secure VPN. This will work exactly like a dedicated VPN app on each platform.
If you’re signing up to a Virtual Private Network with a dedicated app for Amazon’s hardware, you’ll need to head to the App Store on your Fire TV Stick and search for the name of your provider. You’ll need to download the application. Just like any streaming service that you’ve installed, you’ll then see an icon for the application on your homescreen.
Launching the application, login with the same details that you already use with the iPhone, Android or PC version of the software. And that’s it. You’ll then be able to connect to a Virtual Private Network to secure your traffic and change your IP address to anywhere on the planet.
Latest Fire TV Stick reviews
Want to upgrade to a new Fire TV Stick model alongside your new VPN subscription? Amazon has recently upgraded almost all of the devices in its Firestick lineup, so you’re guaranteed to get a modern chipset powering your new streaming dongle and support for the latest technologies, like 4K Ultra HD picture quality, HDR, and Wi-Fi 6 for speedier streaming.
We’ve had our hands on the latest Fire TV Stick gadgets, find our in-depth thoughts below…
- Amazon Fire TV Stick review
- Amazon Fire TV Cube review
- Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max review
Why do you need a VPN for Fire TV Stick?
With the rise of Smart TVs, you might be concerned about the number of companies keeping tabs on your viewing habits. Research has shown that television manufacturers often use data on their customers’ viewing habits to help subsidise the cost of their hardware. In other words, you were able to pick up a 55-inch LED TV for a complete bargain because the manufacturer will be gathering information about everything that takes place on that screen, regardless of whether you’re watching linear broadcast channels, satellite telly, DVDs and Blu-rays, or a streaming set-top box.
According to most manufacturers, the data gathered on your viewing habits is what enabled personalised recommendations, including suggested streaming apps to download to your Smart TV or new shows to watch. These suggestions can be incredibly helpful.
However, there’s no doubt that some would rather stop their television watching them. And fortunately, the end-to-end encryption afforded by a VPN should solve some of these issues. Of course, if you’re watching from a streaming provider, like Prime Video or Netflix, these companies will be aware of the show or movie you’ve decided to settle down and watch. However, it could help cut-out a few more people from the equation.
That’s because, as reporting from the Wall Street Journal shows, many televisions use your IP address to link-up the data gathered from your gogglebox to other advertising tracking from other aspects in your life. For example, the sort of shops you’ve been browsing on your tablet from the sofa, or the social media websites that you use …the list goes on. But when combined, it can be easy for advertisers to be pretty specific about your life and interests.
Best VPN for Firestick
Looking for the best VPN for Amazon’s Fire TV Stick? Look no further than NordVPN. This brilliant VPN offers a number of useful features – including split-tunnelling, re-routing traffic twice to ensure everything is encrypted, server locations across 60 countries – at a great price point.
And of course, there is a beautifully designed app for the Fire TV Stick. It’s available to download from Amazon’s App Store, so you’ll be able to sign-in and encrypt all of your video streaming within seconds. While there are free VPNs available for Fire TV, we’d urge you not to download one of them. That’s because these have a number of limitations in place to try to push you to subscribe to the full-featured paid version. Many of these services restrict the amount of data that you’re able to use or the number of server locations, both of which are essential when trying to watch via a VPN on the Fire TV!
With a NordVPN subscription, you’ll get access to all of the features available from this Virtual Private Network, including functionality like split-tunnelling, kill switch, and multi hop, which is handy for power users. There’s also a 30-day money back guarantee, which serves as a free trial of the service. NordVPN has 24/7 customer service available, so you’ll always be able to sort any issues with the Virtual Private Network if anything comes up. It’s for all of these reasons (and a few more you’ll find below) that NordVPN has clinched our award as the best VPN that money can buy right now, so it’s perhaps no surprise this brilliant service also has one of the best Fire TV apps on the market.
1. NordVPN
NordVPN
An Easy-To-Use VPN With Gorgeous Mobile Apps
Things To Know
Money-back guarantee: Yes, 30 days
Customer support: 24/7 live chat
Server locations: 80+
Maximum number of connections: 6
Password manager: Yes
Read our NordVPN review
What We Love
- Affordable Subscription
- Brilliant Apps For All Platforms
- Fast VPN Connection
- Monitors For Password Leaks
- Split Tunnelling Included
- Never Stores Data On Customers
What We Don’t
- Fewer Server Locations Than Rivals
NordVPN is a brilliant entry point for anyone who wants to get started with Virtual Private Network – one of the reasons that it earned the full five-stars in our NordVPN review.
The provider has a number of gorgeously-designed applications, including for iPhone, Android, Android TV, Chrome web browser, and more. And if there isn’t a dedicated app for your platform of choice, NordVPN offers software for your Wi-Fi router so that any gadget connected to your home Wi-Fi network is encrypted.
Of course, you won’t need to worry about that extra hassle when it comes to the Fire TV Stick.
NordVPN has a dedicated app available to download from the built-in App Store on your set-top box. You can use Alexa to search for the application, or head to the App Store and manually search for it using the directional pad and on-screen keyboard. Once it’s installed, simply sign in with your existing login.
Launching NordVPN on your Fire TV Stick, you’ll be greeted with a prominent Connect Now button. This will analyse a number of performance metrics to determine the best server for you to minimise any impact on download speeds – ideal when streaming video, audio, or video games.
Scrolling down will show a list of commonly-used server locations. With a few taps, you’ll be able to manually change your location. Once that’s done, you should see the changes reflected in any other applications that you open on the Fire TV Stick.
Head to the Trusted Apps menu under Settings, you’ll be able to list specific streaming services on your Fire TV Stick that will bypass the VPN. This practice, known as split-tunneling, is included as part of all NordVPN subscriptions. If you’re planning to switch your IP address to unlock catalogues from around the world, split-tunneling allows you to list exemptions to the rule. For example, BBC iPlayer or ITV Hub will no longer work if you’ve manually changed your location to the United States, for example.
NordVPN boasts a choice of more than 5,000 servers globally, so even if you stumble across a server that has been blocked by a particular streaming service – or is a little congested during peak hours, you should easily be able to find a replacement with a quick tap or two.
Like ExpressVPN, NordVPN had minimal impact on our download speeds during our testing, making it a great option for those looking to leverage their VPN to stream, rather than buying primarily to encrypt their data online. NordVPN offers some incredible deals, especially if you sign up to its one-year or two-year plans. On average, it’s much more affordable than rival ExpressVPN.
NordVPN accepts all major credit card providers, including Mastercard, VISA, AMEX, and Discovery. The Virtual Private Network also lets you pay with PayPal, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. These last two options should make the checkout process must faster as you won’t have to fill-in any details, with everything populated automatically from your phone.
You can also pay for NordVPN with the most popular cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Get 1-year extra FREE + 62% off
£10.09 £2.99 View Deal
NordVPN has launched its annual Birthday Sale …has pulled out all the stops to celebrate! For a limited time, you’ll get either 3 months or one year of VPN access for free with any purchase. This free gift is applied at checkout alongside a whopping 62% off subscriptions!
24/7 Customer Support: Yes | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: Yes
2. ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN
Brilliant VPN That’s Unmatched For Video Streaming
Things To Know
Money-back guarantee: Yes, 30 days
Customer support: 24/7 live chat
Server locations: 160+
Maximum number of connections: 5
Password manager: Yes
Read our ExpressVPN review
What We Love
- Fastest VPN Connections Around
- Brilliant Apps For All Platforms
- Dedicated Team To Unblock Netflix
- Split Tunnelling Included
- Never Stores Data On Customers
What We Don’t
- Expensive Compared To Rivals
- 5 Device Limit Can Be Restrictive
When it comes to streaming, ExpressVPN is a phenomenal pick. The popular provider has a dedicated team that ensures its servers are never blocked by streaming services, despite Netflix’s ongoing crackdown on VPNs. That means you’ll always be able to watch boxsets and films from across the globe without any issues.
This is one of the reasons this popular VPN managed to score the coveted five stars in our ExpressVPN review.
ExpressVPN offers a dedicated application for Fire TV Stick, which is available to download and install from the Amazon App Store that’s preinstalled on all Firestick hardware. Once installed, you’ll be able to connect to any server location provided by ExpressVPN with a quick tap on the remote.
Better yet, ExpressVPN allows you to configure its Virtual Private Network to connect automatically whenever you turn-on your streaming device. This means you won’t need to worry about navigating to the ExpressVPN app each and every time that you turn on your Fire TV Stick.
ExpressVPN also lets you decide which apps on your Fire TV will be routed via its servers. For example, while you might want to access the mammoth catalogue of shows available to Netflix subscribers in the USA, diverting all internet traffic from your Fire TV will see you blocked from accessing BBC iPlayer, since it’s only available in the UK. As such, this feature is incredibly important to ensure you’re not constantly bouncing between the ExpressVPN app and whatever streaming service you want to watch. Set-up once, and forget about it!
ExpressVPN has minimal impact on download speeds, so you shouldn’t see any difference when streaming boxsets compared to your usual Wi-Fi network.
Those with truckloads of gadgets might struggle against ExpressVPN’s five device limit. If you’ve got a number of different devices that you’d like to use with your ExpressVPN subscription, you might need to resort to installing its software on your Wi-Fi router. This ensures that every device connected to your home broadband will be routed via ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN accepts a number of payment methods, including Mastercard, VISA, American Express, and Discover. Paypal and Bitcoin are also available. Unfortunately, unlike NordVPN, there’s no support for Google Pay or Apple Pay for a one-tap checkout on your smartphone or tablet.
However, if you don’t want to pay for a longer membership upfront – you can unlock bigger discounts when you sign-up for a one-year membership, for example – ExpressVPN has added support for Klarna. This payment plan provider lets you break up the total costs into smaller instalments without incurring any interest on your payments. You can simply delay the total cost or break it up into equal payments.
Get 3 months FREE + 49% off
£11.08 £5.71 View Deal
New ExpressVPN subscribers will be gifted three months access for free with their purchase, on top of the whopping 49% discount on your monthly bills
24/7 Customer Support: Yes | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: Yes
3. CyberGhost VPN
CyberGhost VPN
Solid VPN With Unrivalled Money-Back Guarantee
Things To Know
Money-back guarantee: Yes, 45 days
Customer support: 24/7 live chat
Server locations: 105+
Maximum number of connections: 7
Password manager: No
What We Love
- 45-Day Money-Back Guarantee
- Over 7,700 Servers
- Affordable Subscription
- Split Tunnelling Included
- Never Stores Data On Customers
What We Don’t
- Apps Missing On Some Platforms
CyberGhost is a great choice for those who are still a little unsure about how a Virtual Private Network will boost their viewing on the Fire TV Stick.
Unlike NordVPN and ExpressVPN, CyberGhost does offer a limited-time free trial for those who want to test the service before they buy. Even then, if you do decide to subscribe to one of its plans, this popular provider offers an unmatched 45-day money-back guarantee.
For comparison, both NordVPN and ExpressVPN offer a generous 30-day window for you to test whether the service is working as expected. And just like NordVPN and Express VPN, CyberGhost offers 24/7 live chat with its customer service team so no matter what time it is – you’ll be able to get your problem resolved.
CyberGhost has a dedicated app available in Amazon’s App Store, which you can install onto any of the Fire TV Stick models compatible with VPNs. Once it’s installed, you won’t have to go through the hassle of typing out your username and password with the directional pad on the Fire TV remote. Instead, the application automatically generates a PIN code.
You can validate the PIN code displayed in your online account, then authenticate with your username and password. With a single tap, you’ll be able to connect to a Virtual Private Network. As soon as you connect, you should see the connection status on the main screen, the IP address information of the server and the protocol in use.
You’ll be able to manually change your location to some 91 different countries around the world – that’s the second-highest number, falling behind only Express VPN in our definitive list of VPNs. For those who need to travel virtually to far-flung destinations, CyberGhost is a brilliant choice. It also has more than 7,700 servers across those 91 countries – the highest of any provider on this list – so you should always be able to find a server that’s free from congestion, even during peak times.
CyberGhost allows you to checkout with VISA, Mastercard, AMEX, and Discover cards. Everything is processed by a third-party payment processor. PayPal, Bitcoin and Apple Pay are all available too. However, there’s no support for Google Pay at the moment, so Android users won’t be able to enjoy the same seamlessly checkout as counterparts with iPhones in their pockets.
Get 4 months FREE + save 84%
£10.89 £1.78 View Deal
CyberGhost VPN is clearly confident about its offering as this VPN service includes the longest money-back guarantee period of any firm in this list – a whopping 45-days compared to the standard 30-day refund period. With 91 countries and more than 7,500 servers available, there’s no shortage of choice with this nifty VPN
24/7 Customer Support: Yes | 45-Day Money-Back Guarantee
How do VPNs work?
When enabled, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) creates an encrypted tunnel for everything you do online – keeping your web traffic shielded from prying eyes. VPNs are so secure that your broadband provider won’t even be able to keep tabs on what you’re doing online. It can also ensure that you’re always protected from Man-In-The-Middle attacks on public Wi-Fi networks, like those in coffee shops and airports.
These security benefits are the reason that your office likely insists that you connect to a VPN when working from home or when travelling.
Of course, the end-to-end encryption also means you can manually switch your IP address. For those who don’t know, an IP address is automatically assigned to your device whenever you connect to the internet. It contains a number of identifying features, including an approximate location. This is the reason that Google Maps is able to plot directions from your current location to a new destination. Online retailers can also direct you to the nearest brick-and-mortar stores, based on your location too.
Changing your IP address to a server in a different country – like the United States, for example – will make it appear as if you’re on holiday abroad. This tricks online services and websites into thinking you’re located somewhere else. Clearly, that doesn’t always have benefits (it can make plotting turn-by-turn directions on Google Maps a little tricky) but it does enable some fun features. For example, spoofing your location to another country means you can watch streaming services and sports fixtures not available in your current location.
Just like when you’re visiting on holiday, your existing UK login credentials will work on all of the Netflix apps, but the catalogue of shows, documentaries, and movies will be completely different. And it’s not just for Netflix either. VPNs can be used to unlock a bevy of shows and films across a wide range of streaming services, unlock sporting events that aren’t broadcast in your current location, and subscribe to new services that haven’t yet launched where you’re based.
Likewise, if you’re away on holiday and some of the online services that you subscribe to aren’t yet available in the country you’re staying in – a VPN can help.
Do VPNs work with all Amazon Fire TV Stick models?
If you’ve bought one of Amazon’s hugely popular streaming gadgets within the last couple of years – you have nothing to worry about. Your HDMI dongle will have complete access to the built-in App Store, and you’ll be able to install and use a Virtual Private Network without any hiccups. However, if you own the first-generation Fire TV Stick …you’re going to struggle. This does not work with the VPN apps in the Amazon App Store. That doesn’t mean you’re stuck without a VPN.
For older hardware that doesn’t work with the dedicated VPN apps, you’ll need to work much harder to install a Virtual Private Network. It is possible, but you’ll need to dive deep into the Settings menu and enable Developer Options, which allows you to install software from other places than Amazon’s pre-approved selection in its App Store. However, this isn’t without risk. Opening up the operating system in this way is designed for – yes, you’ve guessed it – developers. It’s not supposed to be a way of installing apps that aren’t available.
If you’re not confident with side-loading software using APKs onto an Android smartphone or tablet, we suggest you steer well clear of these methods.
Is it legal to use a VPN with Amazon Fire TV Stick?
Yes, there’s nothing wrong with downloading and installing a Virtual Private Network from the built-in App Store on your Fire TV Stick. Amazon verifies the applications uploaded to its App Store, so if there were any issues with these providers’ applications on Fire TV – they simply wouldn’t be available to install. But while there’s nothing wrong with installing these applications and activating a secure VPN connection …the same cannot always be said for the video on-demand platforms that you use with a VPN.
Using a VPN to access video content might be against the terms and conditions that you signed when joining a subscription service, like Netflix, for example. It’s worth checking the small print with the app you’re planning to use with the VPN you’ve downloaded onto your Fire TV beforehand.
And depending on where you live in the world, there are a number of countries where VPNs are outright illegal. China, Iran, Russia, Turkey, and the UAE all heavily restrict the use of VPNs. While Belarus, Iraq, North Korea, Oman, and Turkmenistan have passed specific laws that ban the use of VPNs entirely. So, if you live in any of the countries listed above, you might want to avoid signing up for one of these services – no matter how accessible they are on your Fire TV Stick.
Do you need to jailbreak Fire TV to use a VPN?
In a word: nope!
Amazon is one of the few companies that has added native support for VPNs on its streaming set-top boxes. Unlike Roku, Chromecast, Apple TV, Nvidia, and others …you can download VPN services directly from the preinstalled App Store on your Fire TV to unlock the useful functionality. This means it much, much easier to use a VPN with a Firestick compared with its closest rivals. It also means there’s no need to go through the rigmarole of jailbreaking your Fire TV device.
Of course, there might be other reasons you wish to jailbreak your Fire TV Stick or Fire TV Cube, but streaming with a VPN isn’t one of them. It’s also worth noting that jailbreaking the software on your Fire TV voids the warranty. That means, should the worst happen and you need a repair from Amazon, you might find yourself turned down and forced to buy a new Fire TV device to continue watching. As such, we’d recommend swerving jailbreaking – especially since it makes no difference to whether you can stream with a Virtual Private Network!
1/ NordVPN – Get 1-year extra FREE + 62% off
View Deal
NordVPN has a gorgeous app for Fire TV ready to install from Amazon’s App Store – making it the ideal companion for any streamer. NordVPN has launched its birthday sale! For a limited time, get either 3 months or 1 year for free when you purchase a VPN subscription. This free gift is applied at checkout alongside a whopping 62% off!
24/7 Customer Support: Yes | One-Month, One-Year, and Two-Year Plans Available | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: Yes
2/ ExpressVPN – Get 3 months FREE + 49% off
View Deal
Not to be outdone, ExpressVPN is offering 3 months for free. On top of that, the remaining months of your subscription will be discounted by a whopping 49% too!
24/7 Customer Support: Yes | One-Month, Six-Months, and One-Year Plans Available | 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee: Yes
3/ CyberGhost VPN – Get 4 months FREE + save 84%
View Deal
CyberGhost is also offering free subscription for new subscribers. It’s also so confident about its VPN service that it boasts an unmatched 45-day money-back guarantee!
24/7 Customer Support: Yes | One-Month, One-Year, Two-Years, and Three-Year Plans Available | 45-Day Money-Back Guarantee
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