5 Best VPNs for Greece: Athens Servers, ANT1, and SKAI Tested in 2026

SKAI and ERTFLIX played on US and Australian servers with no Greek IP address, but ANT1 blocked both and required an Athens server. On those servers, NordVPN recorded the fastest download speed, 182.63 Mbps, and Proton VPN offers 124 Athens servers.

Greek VPNs Compared

Each figure is the download speed on that VPN’s Greek server, tested in October from Europe on a 190.36 Mbps connection.

Top VPNs for Greece Reviewed

1. NordVPN: Best for Greek and Home Streaming

NordVPN measured 182.63 Mbps on its Athens server, the fastest result we recorded, and ANT1 worked. For visitors, the same app offers servers in 152 countries, including UK and US locations for home streaming services. The one drawback we found was a Windows conflict. Another installed VPN kept NordVPN from connecting until its diagnostics tool fixed it. The Basic plan starts under $3.50 a month, renewals cost about $139 a year, and our NordVPN pricing breakdown compares every tier.

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2. Proton VPN: Best for Servers Physically in Greece

Proton VPN lists 124 servers in Athens, and each one operates in Greece. Its Athens download speed was 168.53 Mbps, an 11.5% loss, and it unblocked ANT1. Its Android TV app brings the same Greek connection to a television. The VPN Plus plan costs about $4 a month on a one-year term, dropping under $3 on the two-year term.

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3. ExpressVPN: Best for First-Time VPN Users

ExpressVPN applies obfuscation to every connection automatically, and its Windows app connected in one to two seconds, the quickest we timed. Its Greece server, located in Athens, measured 181.30 Mbps and unblocked ANT1. Its Basic plan works out to under $3/mo on a 28-month bill, and the renewal rate is close to $100 a year. The Android app includes a three-day ExpressVPN free trial.

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4. Private Internet Access: Best for Ad Blocking

PIA‘s MACE blocker blocked 129 of 135 elements on the d3ward ad-block test, a 96% score, ahead of Proton VPN’s NetShield at 93%. Its Greek location measured 180.91 Mbps and unblocked ANT1. The Windows app looks dated and defaults to OpenVPN, so WireGuard requires a manual change. For legal P2P, our guide to torrenting safely covers its port forwarding setup. The 2-year plan costs under $2 a month, then about $47 a year.

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5. Surfshark: Best for Whole-Family Coverage

Surfshark has no device limit, so one subscription covers every phone, laptop, and TV in a household. PIA also allows unlimited devices, and our multiple-device VPN guide compares the options. Surfshark lists six servers in Athens, and the one we used delivered 180.34 Mbps with ANT1 unblocked. Surfshark was a positive surprise across our wider testing, though its app occasionally took longer to connect. The Starter plan is under $2.50 a month for 27 months, then about $79 a year.

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Greek TV Abroad: Which Channels Require a Greek IP Address

SKAI live and ERTFLIX stream outside Greece without a VPN.

• SKAI: the live stream played from Europe, the US, and Australia with no Greek IP address.
• ERTFLIX: free registration requires a country and an 18+ confirmation, with name, city, and phone optional. After sign-up, programs played in the same three regions.
• ANT1: a program that played from Europe showed a message in the US and Australia saying it isn’t available outside Greece. That message directs viewers to ANT1’s paid international channels, Antenna Satellite, Antenna Pacific, and Antenna Europe, sold through TV platforms such as Dish, Sling, and Foxtel.

Outside Europe, connect to a Greek server, and ANT1 plays normally, as it did on every VPN in our lineup.

How to Get a Greek IP Address

1. Subscribe to a VPN with Greek servers, like NordVPN or Proton VPN, and install the app.
2. Connect to Greece. NordVPN, Proton VPN, and Surfshark list Athens by name, while ExpressVPN and PIA show a single “Greece” location.
3. Open a private browser window and load the Greek service. Old cookies can make it show the country from your last visit.
4. Check an IP lookup site if the service still shows the wrong country, then switch to another Greek server.

Using a VPN While in Greece

Visitors in Greece connect to a server in their home country to keep using their usual services. Use a UK server for BBC iPlayer abroad and a US VPN server for Fubo. For race weekends, our free F1 live stream guide lists the options. Traffic on hotel, ferry, and airport Wi-Fi stays encrypted once connected. The network owner and your ISP can’t see which sites you visit. An ISP that can’t see your services can’t slow specific ones.

It’s explained in our guide on how to stop ISP throttling. Set it up on your phone and laptop, Windows or Mac, before the trip. Residents have a privacy reason to keep a VPN on. Law 3917/2011 is still in force and requires Greek ISPs and mobile networks to keep subscribers’ traffic and location data for 12 months. A VPN doesn’t stop that storage, but it hides your browsing from the ISP.

• Mobile data: our Greece eSIM guide compares plans for visitors.
• Onward travel: the same VPNs cover the rest of the continent, ranked in our guide to the best VPNs for Europe.

Greece’s Law on Pirate Streams

Greece fines viewers of pirate streams, and connecting through a VPN doesn’t change that. Law 5179/2025, passed in February 2025, set these penalties for end users of illegal streaming sites and pirate IPTV:

• First offense: €750 to €5,000
• Repeat offense: double the original fine

A government committee, the EDPPI, orders Greek ISPs to block pirate sites, including live sports streams, and can extend those blocks to new domains. SKAI, ERTFLIX, and ANT1 are free and legal, and Cosmote TV and Nova cover paid sports.

Bottom Line

Greek expats who watch SKAI and ERTFLIX don’t require a VPN for them. ANT1 does, and it played on every Athens server we tried, so Greek TV won’t decide the choice. NordVPN is our pick for Greece: it recorded the fastest Athens download speed, and its 152-country network covers home services during a visit. Choose Proton VPN for its 124 Athens servers and lower renewal price, or PIA for the strongest ad blocking.

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