Free VPNs That Still Open Netflix in 2026

Windscribe‘s free plan unblocked every Netflix catalog we checked: the American, Canadian, British, German, and Japanese ones. PrivadoVPN free opened 3 of the 5. Hotspot Shield and Proton VPN free managed the American catalog, while Hide.me and TunnelBear opened nothing. Netflix also blocks VPN connections on its ad-supported plans, so an ad-free subscription comes first.

Netflix Results Side by Side

Our September tests used a Windows 11 PC in Europe, on a connection that measures 190.36 Mbps without a VPN. We deleted cookies and cache before each session. Netflix was then opened in the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, and Japan on every plan.

Why Netflix Blocks Free VPNs

Netflix licenses shows and films country by country. Its terms limit viewing to the country where the account is used. To enforce that, it keeps lists of known VPN IP addresses and shows error E106 when it detects one. Free plans have few IP addresses, with thousands of users behind each one, so those land on the lists quickly. Netflix doesn’t support VPN connections on its ad-supported plans, or during live events.

Subscribers on the cheapest plan can’t change libraries with any VPN, free or paid. Netflix sets its own speed requirements: 3 Mbps for SD, 5 Mbps for HD, and 15 Mbps for 4K. Every plan below clears those figures while its data lasts. Our guide to fixing a Netflix VPN that stopped working covers the other error messages.

Best Free VPNs for Netflix Tested

1. NordVPN: Quickest US Server and Every Library

NordVPN unblocked every catalog we checked, from the US to Japan. Its US server measured 181.50 Mbps, the quickest American figure we recorded. Netflix requires 15 Mbps for 4K. Smart TVs and consoles can use an American IP address through Smart DNS, set up on the NordVPN account page.

Its Android app includes a 3-day trial, with card details required. Paid subscriptions begin at $94.23 for 27 months of the Basic plan, and $139.08 is charged yearly after that. Changing your Netflix region takes a single connection once you’re signed in.

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2. Proton VPN: Every Catalog on Paid, No Data Cap on Free

The Proton VPN Plus plan unblocked the same 5 catalogs, with the US server at 173.68 Mbps. Server choice across 149 countries covers most other catalogs too. Proton VPN charges $9.99 for one month of VPN Plus, or $2.99 a month on the two-year plan. Televisions are the harder part. Proton VPN has no Smart DNS. A Samsung or LG set requires a router install or the Android TV app.

The free plan sets no data limit and covers 10 countries, though the app picks which one. It gave us an American server at 131.00 Mbps, which opened Netflix US. A later Amsterdam server didn’t open the Dutch catalog. Changing country starts a cooldown of 45 seconds, then 10 minutes per change.

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3. ExpressVPN: Best for Netflix on a TV or Console

ExpressVPN opened the 5 catalogs too. Speeds came to 177.03 Mbps in the US and 163.94 Mbps in Japan, the quickest Japanese figure we recorded. MediaStreamer, its Smart DNS, puts a foreign catalog on a Samsung or LG television. Its Apple TV and Fire TV apps cover the streaming sticks.

Protocol and kill switch are tucked under Profile in the redesigned app, which has no Settings menu. Its 28-month Basic plan comes to $83.72, or $2.99 a month, with a $99.95 annual renewal. A 3-day phone trial is available after entering a card.

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4. Windscribe: Free Plan That Opened 5 Catalogs

Windscribe’s free accounts opened the same 5 catalogs as the paid picks. No other free plan we tested came close. Speeds came to 182.21 Mbps in the UK and 160.59 Mbps in the US. Free users pick the country from a list of 10, and Japan is on it, which no other free plan offered.

Data is 2 GB a month, or 10 GB after an email confirmation, and playback stops when that’s gone. Split tunneling sends only the browser through the VPN, which keeps updates and downloads off the allowance. There’s no device limit on free accounts either, so a whole household can sign in at once.

5. PrivadoVPN: Quickest Free Speeds, 3 Catalogs Opened

PrivadoVPN‘s free plan recorded 180.04 Mbps in the UK and 164.55 Mbps in the US, a 9.5% average loss and the quickest free figures we measured. The American, British, and German catalogs opened on it, while Netflix Canada detected it. Its free country list has no Japanese server. Its 10 GB monthly allowance has to be renewed by hand in the account page, which becomes tiresome.

After the 10 GB, PrivadoVPN drops to 1 Mbps instead of cutting off. That’s under Netflix’s 3 Mbps requirement, so video stops even though browsing continues. Free accounts are limited to one device at a time.

6. Hotspot Shield: Free Plan for Netflix US

Hotspot Shield‘s free plan opened Netflix US and no other catalog, since it offers a single American location and one device. Its free server measured 142.71 Mbps, the same figure as its paid one, so 4K playback has room to spare. Data is uncapped, so viewing hours aren’t limited. Its privacy notice is the reason for caution.

Hotspot Shield records the domain names its users visit in anonymized, aggregated form, plus a device hash used for analytics and marketing. Our Hotspot Shield versus NordVPN comparison covers the paid plan.

How Far 10 GB Goes on Netflix

Netflix puts an hour of standard definition at up to 1 GB, an hour of HD at up to 3 GB, and an hour of 4K at up to 7 GB. A 10 GB monthly allowance therefore covers about 3 hours of HD, or a single 4K film. Playback Settings on the Netflix account page control the rate, and the Low setting brings it to roughly 0.3 GB an hour, which turns the same allowance into about 30 hours.

• Windscribe: 10 GB a month with a confirmed email address, then playback stops
• PrivadoVPN: 10 GB a month, then 1 Mbps, which is under Netflix’s SD requirement
• Proton VPN and Hotspot Shield: no limit, though Proton VPN picks the country and Hotspot Shield offers one

Free Plans That Didn’t Open Netflix

• Hide.me‘s free plan opened none of the nine platforms we tested, despite uncapped data and seven countries. Speeds were 152.31 Mbps on its British server and 112.48 Mbps on the American one. Our Hide.me review covers the paid plan, which does open Netflix.
• TunnelBear‘s free plan didn’t open Netflix US, and 2 GB a month leaves no room for video. Our free VPN rankings cover them for everyday browsing.

Free VPN Apps to Avoid

The plans above come from VPN companies with paid subscriptions, and that revenue pays for the free tier. App stores are full of the other kind. Two patterns come up repeatedly.

• Apps that sell access to your connection. Hola routes its users’ traffic through other users’ devices and sells that access through its commercial arm. A stranger’s browsing then arrives at websites from your IP address. An app offering unlimited free data with no paid plan behind it has another revenue source, and bandwidth is the usual one.
• Apps that hide who owns them. The Tech Transparency Project traced 20 of the 100 most-downloaded free VPN apps in the US App Store to undisclosed Chinese owners, with over 70 million downloads between them. Turbo VPN and VPN Proxy Master were among those tied to Qihoo 360, a firm the US Commerce Department sanctioned in 2020.

How to Unblock Another Netflix Library

1. Check your Netflix plan and move off the ad-supported tier if you’re on it.
2. Install the VPN and sign in to the free plan or the trial.
3. Connect to a server in the country whose catalog you want.
4. Clear cookies and cache, or open Netflix in a private window.
5. Sign in to Netflix and check the rows for local titles.

If error E106 appears, connect to another server in the same country and reload the page. Our guide to getting past VPN blocks explains what to try next, and the best VPNs for Netflix ranks the paid picks.

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Claiming the 3-Day Trial on Android

NordVPN and ExpressVPN both put a 3-day trial in their Google Play listings, enough for a weekend of viewing on a phone or an Android TV box:

1. Install the app from Google Play on the device you’ll watch on.
2. Open the subscription screen and pick a plan; the trial appears above the price.
3. Confirm with a card or Google Pay, since the trial requires a payment method.
4. Sign in and connect to the country whose catalog you want, then open the Netflix app.
5. Cancel Play Store subscriptions before day 3 if you don’t want the charge.

The trial is tied to the Google account, so it can’t be claimed twice on the same one. Netflix then plays on the phone and casts to a TV as usual. A desktop requires the paid plan or one of the free plans.

Summary

Windscribe is the free plan to start with. It opens every tested catalog, connects each device in a household, and its 10 GB covers 3 hours of HD a month. PrivadoVPN is quicker and keeps a slow connection going after the cap, with 3/5 catalogs open. For viewing without a data counter, the paid plans do the job: NordVPN for the quickest American server, Proton VPN for 149 countries of server choice, and ExpressVPN for Netflix on a television through MediaStreamer.

Whichever you pick, the account has to be on an ad-free Netflix plan, and our guide to Netflix password-sharing rules covers the account side.

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