Best VPN for Germany in 2026: Tested and Reviewed

In Germany, a torrent download can end with a letter from a law firm. Rights holders watch file-sharing networks, obtain a court order to match IP addresses to customers, and send cease-and-desist letters, known as Abmahnungen, that usually demand several hundred euros.

On top of that, a bill before the Bundestag would make ISPs store which IP address each customer used for three months. A VPN for Germany replaces your IP address with one that belongs to its server, so websites and file-sharing networks see the VPN instead of your connection.

It also keeps your browsing private from your ISP and unblocks streaming catalogs that aren’t sold in Germany, such as American Netflix. Out of the 30+ VPNs we’ve tested, five stand out for Germany.

Germany VPN Comparison

Speed loss is the average share of our connection each VPN lost across UK, US, and Japanese servers. Port forwarding lets a torrent client accept incoming connections, which helps it find more people sharing a file.

VPN	German server cities	Average speed loss	Streaming services unblocked	Port forwarding	Price
NordVPN	Berlin, Frankfurt, Hamburg	7.8%	14 of 14	No	About $3.50/mo
Proton VPN	Berlin, Frankfurt	10.2%	10 of 14	Yes, paid plans	About $3/mo
ExpressVPN	Berlin, Frankfurt, Nuremberg	7.8%	14 of 14	No	About $3/mo
Private Internet Access	Berlin, Frankfurt	12.7%	9 of 14	Yes	About $2/mo
Surfshark	Berlin, Frankfurt	9.6%	13 of 14	No	About $2.50/mo

Five VPNs for Germany, Ranked

These five pair fast German servers with the protection that counts in Germany: a kill switch, an audited no-logs policy, and support for torrenting on their regular servers.

1. NordVPN: Best Overall VPN for Germany

NordVPN is our first choice for Germany because it handles streaming and torrenting equally well. Its average speed loss was just 7.8%, which matched ExpressVPN as the lowest we recorded, and its German servers cover Berlin, Frankfurt, and Hamburg.

None of our 14 streaming services blocked it, from Netflix US and other Netflix libraries to HBO Max. For torrenting, every NordVPN server allows file sharing, so there’s no special server to look for. Its kill switch, which blocks your connection if the VPN disconnects, comes in two forms.

The standard one blocks all traffic, while the app-level one closes only the programs you choose, such as a torrent client. That’s why it ranks among the best VPNs for torrenting. However, it has no port forwarding, so rare files may find fewer people to download from. If that’s a problem, PIA has it.

As for price, NordVPN’s two-year plan is about $3.50 a month and covers ten devices. The Complete plan adds next-gen antivirus, which blocks malware and dangerous downloads, and auditors have confirmed its no-logs policy more than once.

See price at NordVPN

2. Proton VPN: Best Privacy VPN for Germany

Proton VPN is the strongest choice for privacy. Swiss law, outside German and EU data rules, governs the company, and its no-logs policy goes through an independent audit annually. Its app code is open-source and public. If you want the most secure VPN possible, that combination is hard to beat.

On paid plans, Secure Core first sends your traffic through a hardened server in Switzerland, Iceland, or Sweden, and its Tor servers let you open .onion sites without installing Tor Browser, a setup also known as Tor over VPN.  VPN Plus also adds port forwarding for torrent clients and NetShield, which blocks ads, trackers, and malware.

However, its 10.2% average speed loss trails NordVPN, and it couldn’t unblock Hulu, Pluto TV, or ITVX. There’s also no Smart DNS, so Samsung and LG TVs, which don’t support VPN apps, can use Proton VPN only through a router.

Paid for two years, VPN Plus comes to roughly $3 a month, and our Proton VPN vs NordVPN comparison sets the two side by side.

See price at Proton VPN

3. ExpressVPN: Best for Beginners in Germany

ExpressVPN is the easiest VPN to start with. Its apps have one large connect button, and no connection took longer than two seconds in our tests, faster than the other four. Select Germany, and it connects to the best of its Berlin, Frankfurt, and Nuremberg servers. Our ExpressVPN review covers the apps in more detail.

Its speed matched NordVPN, with a 7.8% average loss, and every streaming service we tested worked with it. For example, it unblocked Netflix in the US, Canada, and Japan, plus BBC iPlayer and ITVX.

On the other hand, Advanced Protection, its ad and tracker blocker, stopped only 71% of ads in our test, so keep a browser ad blocker alongside it. On a two-year term, the Basic plan is priced near $3 a month, with room for ten devices.

See price at ExpressVPN

4. Private Internet Access: Best for Torrenting in Germany

Private Internet Access is the torrenter’s choice. Port forwarding is a checkbox in its settings, and it works on European servers, including Germany’s, so your torrent client can accept incoming connections and download faster. PIA also costs about $2 a month on its longest plan, and that covers every device in your home.

On privacy, PIA has a strong record. It’s based in the US, yet court cases there have shown it keeps no records that could identify a user. With servers in every US state, it’s also useful for watching US TV in Germany.

That said, PIA’s kill switch let unencrypted traffic out when we restarted our PC, before the VPN reconnected. For torrenting, that’s the moment that counts, so don’t let your torrent client launch at startup, and open it only once PIA is connected.

See price at Private Internet Access

5. Surfshark: Best Value VPN for Germany

Surfshark offers the most for the money. Its Starter plan comes to about $2.50 a month when paid for two years and includes CleanWeb, an ad and tracker blocker, and Alternative ID, which creates a masked email address for sign-ups, so shops and newsletters never see your personal inbox. One subscription also covers unlimited devices.

Speed is another strength. It averaged a 9.6% loss and lost only 1.8% on UK servers, the best UK result we recorded. In addition, ITVX was the only one of our 14 streaming services it couldn’t unblock.

Its weak point is the monthly plan, which costs several times more than the two-year rate, so choose a two-year term if you’ll keep it. If even that’s more than you want to spend, a few free VPNs for Germany offer German servers, though most limit how much data you can use each month.

See price at Surfshark

VPN Laws, Torrenting, and Data Retention in Germany

VPNs are legal in Germany, and many companies require one for remote work. Still, a VPN doesn’t change the law itself, and downloading or sharing copyrighted films, music, or games remains illegal with or without one.

Torrenting is legal for files you have the right to share, such as Linux distributions or public-domain films. Copyright letters target the rest, and every one starts from an IP address a rights holder logged in a file-sharing network.

A VPN hides that IP address from everyone else in the network. Meanwhile, the IP retention bill hasn’t passed yet. If it does, the records ISPs keep would show only a connection to a VPN server for customers who use one.

Using a German Server Abroad

Outside Germany, a VPN works the other way. Connect NordVPN or any of the five to Berlin or Frankfurt, and German banking, shopping, and news sites see a German IP address.

The same server unblocks German TV. ARD Mediathek, ZDF, and Joyn restrict much of their content to viewers in Germany, which is why watching German TV abroad starts with a German connection.

Verdict

If you only stream German services and never share files, a VPN adds little in Germany beyond privacy on public Wi-Fi. For everyone else, it’s one of the few tools that keeps your IP address out of other people’s records. For that job, we recommend NordVPN first.

It pairs top speed with a kill switch that can close a torrent client on its own the moment the VPN disconnects. If you care more about who keeps your data than about speed, Proton VPN deserves the top spot instead.

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