Watch the Indian JioHotstar Abroad, From Serials to IPL Cricket

JioHotstar is where much of India watches TV now: the IPL and India’s cricket matches, Hindi and regional serials, Bigg Boss, and a long list of films and originals. For Indian families abroad, students, and travelers, it’s often the app they miss most once they leave the country.

Outside India, however, what’s available depends on where you are. A few countries now have their own JioHotstar, with serials and films but no live cricket, while most of the world has no version. So how do you watch the full Indian JioHotstar from abroad?

A VPN connected to India is the usual answer, and after testing 15+ of them precisely on JioHotstar, we found three that work well. First, I’ll explain how to watch JioHotstar abroad and then discuss the VPNs that worked.

JioHotstar Outside India: Which Countries Have It

JioHotstar now has an official version in the UK, Canada, and Singapore, which replaced the Hotstar app in those countries. It offers Indian serials, films, originals, and reality shows such as Bigg Boss, plus live entertainment channels like Star Plus and Colors.

However, it has no live sports, so the IPL, the WPL, and India’s matches remain on the Indian service. Everywhere else, from Germany to the Gulf and Australia, there’s no official JioHotstar. Open it there, and a dreaded error message replaces the home screen.

Here’s how the two versions compare:

	International JioHotstar	Indian JioHotstar
Where it’s sold	UK, Canada, Singapore	India only
Live cricket (IPL, India matches)	No	Yes
Indian serials, films, and originals	Yes	Yes
Plans	Quarterly or yearly	Monthly, quarterly, or yearly
Starting price	About £20 a quarter in the UK	About ₹80 a month (Mobile plan)
Sign-up	Local app stores (also on Sky devices in the UK)	Indian mobile number and Indian payment method

JioHotstar, Hotstar, and JioCinema Explained

JioHotstar formed when India’s two biggest streaming services merged. JioCinema and Hotstar combined under one name in early 2025, and the JioCinema app was phased out once its subscriptions ended.

As a result, JioCinema’s shows and sports now stream on JioHotstar, so searching for JioCinema abroad leads to the same service and the same India-only catalog. The Hotstar name has gone as well.

In the UK, Canada, and Singapore, the Hotstar app became the international JioHotstar, while Hotstar-branded apps in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia have closed.

How to Watch JioHotstar Outside India With a VPN

The Indian version checks your IP address and works only when you appear to be in India. A VPN changes your IP address to an Indian one when you connect to its India location. In our tests, NordVPN unblocked JioHotstar on its Indian server, so we used it for this walkthrough.

Once you’ve subscribed, install the app on each device you plan to watch on. Next, search for India in the server list and connect. NordVPN’s Indian location is Mumbai, and once you’re connected, sites see an Indian IP address instead of your own.

Then open JioHotstar in a browser or the app and sign in. JioHotstar logs you in with a one-time code sent by text message to your registered mobile number, so keep your Indian SIM active with roaming, or use Wi-Fi calling while you’re away.

Subscribing from abroad also requires an Indian payment method, the same obstacle viewers face with JioHotstar in the USA. Keep JioHotstar’s terms in mind as well: they prohibit tools that hide your location, and JioHotstar can suspend accounts that break this rule.

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Watching IPL and Cricket on JioHotstar From Abroad

Cricket is the main reason many viewers want the Indian version. In India, JioHotstar streams the IPL and the WPL, along with India’s home internationals. None of it is on the international version, so a UK, Canadian, or Singaporean subscription won’t show a live match.

Cricket still requires an Indian account and an Indian IP address. If you’d rather use a local service, cricket rights abroad are sold country by country. During the 2026 IPL season, for example, Sky Sports showed the league in the UK, Willow broadcast it in the US and Canada, and Cricbuzz streamed it free in the Gulf.

These deals change from one season to the next, so check your country’s rights holder before the next one starts.

VPNs That Unblock JioHotstar

JioHotstar blocks many VPN servers, so we tested which VPNs still unblock it on Indian servers, from a connection in Europe. These three worked, and they also appear in our ranking of the best VPNs for India. For speed loss, the baseline is the same connection with the VPN off.

VPN	Indian server	Download speed	Speed loss
NordVPN	Mumbai	170.95 Mbps	10.2%
Proton VPN	India	104.10 Mbps	45.3%
Surfshark	Delhi	182.64 Mbps	4.1%

1. NordVPN: Best for Cricket on the Big Screen

NordVPN’s apps work on Fire TV, Android TV, and Apple TV, so the whole family can watch cricket on the TV, and the subscription covers ten devices at once. Its Mumbai server had a speed loss of about 10%, still well above what 1080p, let alone a 4K match, requires.

On a laptop, the NordVPN extension for Chrome switches your location without the full app. Mumbai is its only Indian city. If JioHotstar ever shows a VPN error, disconnect and connect to India again, and NordVPN picks a different server in the same city.

For most viewers abroad, we’d start with NordVPN. Its 30-day money-back guarantee covers a full month of matches, and the NordVPN free trial lets Android users test it first.

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2. Proton VPN: Best for Students on Campus Wi-Fi

Proton VPN’s Stealth protocol makes a VPN connection look like regular HTTPS browsing. That helps on university and hotel Wi-Fi networks that block VPNs, so students abroad can still watch serials from a dorm room. Proton VPN also has apps for Fire TV and Android TV, so the same account works on a TV.

Its Indian server was noticeably slower, with a 45% speed loss, but that still left over 100 Mbps. If a live match buffers in 4K, drop the quality to Full HD. A two-year subscription comes to about $3.50 a month.

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3. Surfshark: Best for Speed and Value

Surfshark was the fastest on Indian servers in our tests, with a 4% speed loss on its Delhi server. It also has servers in Mumbai, so you can switch cities if one server is busy on a match day. On the two-year plan, Surfshark costs about $2.50 a month.

It also supports unlimited simultaneous connections, ideal for families or circles of friends spread across phones, laptops, and a TV. Renewal costs much more, so we’d stick with that two-year plan to keep the low rate for the longest.

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Does a Free VPN Work With JioHotstar?

No. The free versions of Windscribe and PrivadoVPN didn’t work with JioHotstar in our tests primarily because they don’t offer any servers in India. Proton VPN’s free plan, one of the better free VPNs for general browsing, chooses the server automatically, and India isn’t among its free locations.

Most free VPNs for India also cap data, and a long cricket match uses a lot of it, so a paid VPN with a money-back guarantee is the safer way to follow a season.

Summary

If you live in the UK, Canada, or Singapore and only want serials and films, the local JioHotstar may be enough, and it doesn’t require a VPN. Cricket fans and viewers in other countries still need the Indian version.

Connect a VPN to an Indian server, log in with the number on your account, and the full catalog plays as it does at home. But choose the VPN carefully since JioHotstar is known to block VPN connections: NordVPN, Proton VPN, and Surfshark are proven to work.

It also helps to set everything up a day before a big match. The login code goes to your Indian number by text, so it’s better to find out whether it arrives while there’s no rush.

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