Netflix is arguably the most prominent video streaming service worldwide. Despite losing ground recently, you can’t deny that Netflix is still a powerhouse in the streaming community. Although there’s quite a bit of competition, its massive network still spans more than 38 different regions, covering a vast 190 countries. All of the content libraries are unique, but the most popular by far is the United States library. While it does not have the largest one anymore, many outside the country still consider it the best option for viewing. If you travel overseas and want to use your Netflix account, you can watch the local library or connect to the US library with a VPN.
Netflix has taken quite a bit of time to hone its blocking skills to stop others from gaining access to different areas. Keep in mind if you try to swap regions too much, you may run into an error. It could say something like Netflix has encountered a technical issue, and the support team is working to fix it. If you see it, the only thing that will fix it is time. We ran into this one because we were testing the different VPN providers. If you don’t try to switch regions much, you may never have that happen.
How to test if your VPN will unblock Netflix US Titles
This is one of the most straightforward VPN tests you can do. While it may be easier to test outside the US, you can still test it in the country just as we did. Of course, you may not need to do this normally, but follow these steps if you’re traveling abroad. We used the same process for our tests.
- Choose a VPN provider and download the software.
- Once downloaded, connect to a VPN server in the US.
- Although we got successful results below, not all VPNs will work correctly.
- Log into Netflix and select a US-only title.
- If yours works, you’ll see the title. If not, you may want to try one of our options below.
Here are the VPN providers we tested. At the time of this post, all titles are exclusive to the Netflix US library.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is one of the top providers in the community. That’s due to its consistent performance and speed. As you can see in this image, ExpressVPN allows us to access the US-only title, Schitt’s Creek. That means you won’t have any issues watching US Netflix if you’re outside the country. Additionally, the company offers a SmartDNS service. Though that won’t encrypt your traffic, it will let you access US Netflix without encryption overhead. Although overhead is usually minimal, it has its advantages. ExpressVPN passed our US Netflix test when we connected to a server in Atlanta.
30-day money-back guarantee
NordVPN
NordVPN is another top provider in the community. Just as with ExpressVPN above, they have a solid team that stays aware of any changes in Netflix’s blocking actions. They also have a SmartDNS service that will let you access US Netflix without encryption overhead. As you can see in this image, we chose a US-only title called New York Prison Break: The seduction of Joyce Mitchell. We connected to a server in New York, and it gave us the option to play it. NordVPN passes our US Netflix test.
30-day money-back guarantee
Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access, also called PIA, is a veteran company in the community. Privacy advocates love this one because of the high levels of customization. To test whether or not we could access US Netflix, we chose a title called The Comey Rule. It’s about the former director of the FBI, James Comey. As you can see, we connected to a server in Atlanta and were able to find the show with the option to play. That means PIA passes our test.
30-day money-back guarantee
CyberGhost
CyberGhost has made a splash in the community, and some consider it a rising star. In keeping with our US-only Netflix titles, we chose an option to test CyberGhost called T@gged (Tagged). As you can see in this image, we were able to find it when we connected to a server in New York. As with the others, you get the option to play the title if you are on the US version. CyberGhost works, so we gave it a passing grade.
45-day money-back guarantee
IPVanish
While IPVanish used to have issues getting US Netflix to work on some of its servers, that’s not the case with this Atlanta server. As you can see here, we chose the server in Atlanta and searched for the title Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge, & Michel’le. We found it and got the option to play the show. Because this title is exclusive to the US version of Netflix, that means IPVanish passed our test.
30-day money-back guarantee
Surfshark
Because Surfshark is a NordVPN brand, you would expect them to have the same ability to play US Netflix. In this image, you can see that that is the case. We chose a title called Te Ata for our test. Here, we connected to a server in New York. We got the option to play the title, so Surfshark passed our test.
30-day money-back guarantee
PrivadoVPN
Despite PrivadoVPN’s recent entrance into the VPN space, we are not surprised to see these test results. In this one, we used a US title called #FollowFriday and connected to a VPN server in New York. If you’ve noticed, we use New York in our tests frequently, that’s because if a service works, it will work in New York. The image shows we got the option to play the title. That means PrivadoVPN passed our test.
30-day money-back guarantee
StrongVPN
Since IPVanish owns StrongVPN, you would expect both products to be able to handle the test. For StrongVPN’s test, we went back to Schitt’s Creek to see if it worked. We chose their server in Atlanta and got the option to play the title. That means StrongVPN passed our US-only Netflix test.
30-day money-back guarantee
HMA
While HMA has had issues with US Netflix and BBC iPlayer, we did not have any this time. For this test, we used the US Netflix exclusive show New York Prison Break: The seduction of Joyce Mitchell. By connecting to a VPN server located in Asheville, NC. If Netflix detects you’re using VPN, it will tell you outright. Other issues include giving you an “international” library. Because this one works, HMA passed our test.
30-day money-back guarantee
PureVPN
Back to The Comey Rule, we tested a US server for PureVPN. Just as with PIA above, we were able to find and play this US-exclusive Netflix show. As you can see in this image, the show is available to play. That means PureVPN met the criteria for this one and passed our test.
31-day money-back guarantee
AtlasVPN
To test AtlasVPN for US Netflix, we used a title we used previously called Tagged or T@gged. In this image, you can see that we connected to a server in New York. Next, we searched for the US-specific Netflix title, Tagged. Once we found it, it gave s the option to play, and we were able to play the video. That means AtlasVPN passed our test.
30-day money-back guarantee
Ivacy
Ivacy doesn’t have any specific city servers, but you can see we are connected to a server in the United States. In this image, we re-visited the US-only Netflix title called Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le. As you can see, we searched and located the show. It allowed us to play the show, and we were able to. That means Ivacy passes our US Netflix test.
30-day money-back guarantee
TorGuard
People that use TorGuard typically focus on privacy. However, you may want to stream content when using this VPN. If you read our BBC iPlayer post, TorGuard does not work with it. It does work with the US version of Netflix. We connected to a server in Atlanta to give us the US connection. We then logged in and did a search for Te Ata, we found the US-specific Netflix show. Since we can verify it works, TorGuard received a passing grade for this test.
7-day money-back guarantee
CactusVPN
CactusVPN finishes everything with a positive result in wrapping up our US Netflix tests. Here, we revisit the US-only show called #FollowFriday. You can see we connected to a server in Atlanta for this test. Fortunately, when we searched, we located the show. Of course, we could watch it, so CactusVPN receives a passing grade.
30-day money-back guarantee
Bottom Line for using Netflix US with a VPN
US Netflix is always one of the most popular content libraries to watch. However, many providers can’t pass this test. Previously, that was not the case with everyone in our group. We were surprised to learn that all of our options passed this test. Our providers have stepped up their game to allow at least the unblocking of US Netflix. If your VPN does not unblock US Netflix, we suggest you try ours.
