Best VPN for the Netherlands in 2026

In a ruling on a Dutch copyright dispute, the EU’s highest court recently described VPNs as lawful technical tools. That settles the legal question for people in the Netherlands. It doesn’t explain why so many of them want a VPN in a country known for its open internet.

The reasons are less visible. Dutch intelligence services can intercept traffic on internet cables, and ISPs such as Ziggo and KPN block The Pirate Bay under court orders. NPO Start and Videoland serve viewers in the Netherlands only, while the US Netflix catalog remains blocked at home.

A VPN sends your connection through a server you choose, in Amsterdam or abroad, and websites go by that server’s location. Blocked sites load, the Netflix catalog follows the server’s country, and anything intercepted along the way remains unreadable.

Some VPNs handle that much better on Dutch servers than others. The shortlist is below.

Netherlands VPN Comparison Table

VPN	Dutch server locations	Countries	Average speed loss	Streaming services unblocked	Devices
NordVPN	Amsterdam (200+ servers)	152	7.8% (NordLynx)	9 of 9	10
Proton VPN	Amsterdam (672 servers)	149	10.2% (WireGuard)	7 of 9	10
ExpressVPN	Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague	113	7.8% (Lightway)	9 of 9	10 (Basic plan)
Private Internet Access	Amsterdam	113	12.7% (WireGuard)	6 of 9	Unlimited
Surfshark	Amsterdam	100	9.6% (WireGuard)	8 of 9	Unlimited

The 5 Best VPNs for Dutch Users in 2026

Each of the five offers servers in Amsterdam, so a Dutch IP address is one click away at home or on a trip. They also rank in our overall list of the best VPN services.

1. NordVPN: Best for Fast Dutch Connections

NordVPN’s Amsterdam servers lost just 4.9% of our speed, so a 4K stream or a large download behaves as it would on a plain connection. Its 200+ Dutch servers are in Amsterdam, and NordLynx, NordVPN’s own version of the WireGuard protocol, keeps distant servers quick as well.

For streaming, NordVPN unblocked all 9 international services in our tests, from the American Netflix library and BBC iPlayer to HBO Max and Prime Video. On its Dutch servers, it also unblocked NPO Start, KIJK, and Netflix Netherlands for Dutch viewers on holiday in Spain or working in the US.

Privacy is well covered too. The no-logs policy has been independently audited several times, Double VPN sends your traffic through two encrypted servers, and next-gen antivirus scans downloads for malware.

Those tools make it one of the most secure VPNs we’ve reviewed. The drawback is the renewal price, which is noticeably higher than the first term. That’s why we’d go for the two-year plan, at about $3.50 a month, since it keeps the low rate longest.

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2. Proton VPN: Best for Secure Core Privacy

Proton VPN makes the strongest case on privacy. It’s based in Switzerland, outside the Nine Eyes, the group of countries that share intelligence, including the Netherlands. Secure Core sends your traffic through a hardened server in Sweden, Switzerland, or Iceland before it reaches the Dutch or foreign server you chose.

Proton VPN has far more Amsterdam servers than the other four, so a crowded server is rarely an issue. Speed on them was lower than NordVPN’s, with a 16% loss, still enough for 4K streaming. NPO Start and KIJK showed no region errors on its Amsterdam servers, and neither did Netflix Netherlands.

Abroad, it unblocked US Netflix and BBC iPlayer. However, ITVX and Pluto TV blocked it. Proton VPN has no Smart DNS. If your Samsung or LG TV has no Proton VPN app, set up Proton VPN on your router so the TV connects through it automatically.  A 30-day full refund leaves time to test it on your own devices.

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3. ExpressVPN: Best for Servers Beyond Amsterdam

ExpressVPN is the only VPN of the five with Dutch servers outside Amsterdam, in Rotterdam and The Hague. Its Amsterdam server was also the quickest Dutch result we recorded, with a 4% speed loss, and the app connected within two seconds every time.

Lightway, ExpressVPN’s own protocol, reconnects quickly when your phone moves from home Wi-Fi to mobile data on the train. On streaming, ExpressVPN matched NordVPN on the 9 international services we tested, which places it among the best VPNs for Netflix.

On its Amsterdam server, ExpressVPN also unblocked the Dutch Netflix catalog, NPO Start, and KIJK. ExpressVPN has no multi-hop option, a connection through two servers instead of one. If that extra layer of privacy is your reason for a VPN, choose Proton VPN and its Secure Core servers instead.

The two-year Basic plan costs about $3 a month and covers 10 devices. Higher plans cover up to 14 devices, though they cost considerably more.

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4. Private Internet Access: Best for Torrenting Legal Files

Private Internet Access is the VPN we’d install for torrenting legal files in the Netherlands. Port forwarding, which lets other peers connect to you directly, is available on PIA’s servers in Europe, including Amsterdam, and helps downloads start faster.

Its no-logs policy was also put to the test in US courts, where subpoenas turned up no user data. MACE, its ad and tracker blocker, blocked 96% of the ads in our test, the best result of the five, and unlimited devices cover a shared student house on one subscription.

Our full PIA review covers its other tools, including a Shadowsocks proxy for networks that restrict VPN traffic. PIA had the lowest average speed of the five and unblocked fewer streaming services, failing HBO Max and Prime Video.

Its Windows app also starts on the older OpenVPN protocol, so select WireGuard under the app’s protocol settings before connecting. That extra step is one reason it trails the top VPNs for Windows on ease of use.

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5. Surfshark: Best Dutch-Based VPN

Surfshark is the Dutch option on the list. The company behind it, Surfshark B.V., is registered in Amsterdam and answers to Dutch law and the GDPR. It keeps no record of what you do online, a claim verified by independent auditors, which places it among the audited no-logs VPNs.

On UK servers, Surfshark lost just 1.8% of our speed, the smallest UK loss we recorded, which helps if you watch BBC iPlayer from Utrecht or Rotterdam. It unblocked 8 of our 9 international streaming services, including Netflix US and HBO Max.

CleanWeb also removes ads and cookie pop-ups, even on the Starter plan. ITVX blocked it, though, so choose NordVPN or ExpressVPN for British channels. Surfshark also took a while to connect now and then, and choosing a specific Amsterdam server instead of the fastest location usually fixes that.

The Starter plan costs about $2.50 a month when you pay for two years.

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Dutch Law, Surveillance, and Blocked Sites

Beyond streaming, most of the case for a VPN in the Netherlands comes from Dutch law. None of it bans VPNs, which are legal across most of Europe too.

What Dutch Intelligence and ISPs Can See

The main intelligence law, the Wiv 2017, lets the AIVD and MIVD tap internet cables in bulk. Voters turned it down in a 2018 referendum, but the vote wasn’t binding, and the law took effect anyway. A temporary act from July 2024 widened those powers for investigations into countries with offensive cyber programs.

A draft law to replace both laws went out for public consultation in 2026. Data retention works differently. A court in The Hague struck down the Dutch data retention law in 2015. The bill meant to replace it has never been voted on, so ISPs have no general duty to keep records of your browsing.

They can still see it as it happens, though. A VPN turns that view into one encrypted connection to a server. That’s one of the main benefits of using a VPN at home and on the free Wi-Fi at Schiphol or on NS trains.

Pirate Bay Blocks and Downloading

Ziggo and XS4ALL have blocked The Pirate Bay since a 2020 appeal ruling won by BREIN, the Dutch anti-piracy group. Under a 2021 agreement, KPN, T-Mobile, and other ISPs follow court-ordered blocks too, so new blocked sites appear across most Dutch connections.

A VPN unblocks those sites because the request goes out through a VPN server beyond the block, with a different IP address attached. It doesn’t change the law, however.

Downloading films, series, or music from illegal sources has been against the law in the Netherlands since 2014. A VPN doesn’t change that, so keep torrenting for legal files such as Linux images or public-domain films.

Streaming and Gaming From the Netherlands

At home, a US server unblocks the American Netflix catalog and a UK server unblocks BBC iPlayer. NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark unblocked them in our tests. If you’re the one abroad, connect to a Dutch server instead, and NPO Start, KIJK, and the other Dutch TV channels you can watch abroad treat you as a local viewer.

For banking or government sites that expect a local connection, the same Amsterdam servers work, and getting a Dutch IP address takes a few minutes with any of the five. Gamers in the Netherlands have shorter distances to cover than most, since Amsterdam hosts servers for many online games. A VPN won’t lower your ping to those servers.

It does hide your IP address from other players, which protects you from DDoS attacks during matches. That’s why VPNs for gaming are popular with competitive players.

Free VPNs With Dutch Servers

Windscribe and PrivadoVPN include Dutch servers on their free plans, and in our tests they unblocked the same Dutch channels and Netflix library as the paid VPNs. The limit is data: about 10 GB a month, which covers around five hours of HD video.

Surprisingly, Proton VPN’s free plan assigned us an Amsterdam server and still got a region error on every Dutch service, since streaming is a paid extra there. Like the other free VPNs worth installing, Windscribe and PrivadoVPN come from companies that also sell paid plans.

Unknown free VPNs from app stores are a different matter. Many earn money from your browsing data or show ads in your traffic, which defeats the purpose of a VPN. If the price is the issue, cheap paid VPNs start at around $2 a month.

Conclusion

NordVPN is our choice for most people in the Netherlands. Speed on Dutch servers was close at the top, so streaming decided it: NordVPN unblocked Dutch channels from abroad and the US catalog at home on one subscription.

Before a trip, connect to an Amsterdam server and load NPO Start, so any problem turns up before you leave. Extra discounts come and go, so check the current NordVPN coupons before you subscribe.

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FAQ About Netherlands VPN