Connect a VPN to a server in London or another British city, and every site you visit sees a UK IP address. On NordVPN, Proton VPN, and ExpressVPN, the switch took seconds in our October tests from Europe, and BBC iPlayer and Channel 4 unblocked on each one. Free Windscribe and PrivadoVPN accounts unblocked BBC iPlayer on UK servers too, within 10 GB a month.
How to Get a UK IP Address: 2026 Steps
- Get a NordVPN subscription and set up the app on your device.
- Connect to a UK server, with London as the default choice.
- Check your IP address on a lookup site such as whatismyipaddress.com.
- Clear your browser cookies, then load the UK site or app.
UK Servers Compared
| VPN | UK servers | UK cities | UK download | UK ping |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NordVPN | 440+ | London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow | 184.73 Mbps | 41 ms |
| Proton VPN | 849 | London, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast | 178.89 Mbps | 45 ms |
| ExpressVPN | Not published | 7 locations, 5 of them in London | 185.74 Mbps | 42 ms |
Speeds are from a Windows 11 PC in Europe on a 190.36 Mbps baseline, so the three lost between 2.4% and 6.0% on a UK server. Ping varies with distance from the UK. Our best VPN for the UK rankings compare more VPNs with UK servers.
Get a London IP Address
Pick a London server in the VPN app to get a London IP address. Each VPN we tested has London servers:
- NordVPN: London, with Manchester, Edinburgh, and Glasgow as alternatives.
- Proton VPN: 612 of its 849 UK servers are in London. Cardiff and Belfast make it the only one of the three with servers in Wales and Northern Ireland.
- ExpressVPN: five London-area locations (London, Docklands, East London, Tottenham, and Wembley), plus Manchester and Midlands.
Any UK city works for national services: BBC iPlayer played on London, Manchester, and Edinburgh servers in our tests.
Check That Your IP Address Is British
Open an IP lookup site after connecting, and confirm it shows the UK and the city you picked. If a site still treats you as a foreign visitor, clear its cookies or switch to a private browsing window, since saved location data can outlast the IP change. If the problem persists, switch to another UK server. The same steps apply to other countries, covered in our IP address guide.
What a UK IP Address Unblocks
Without a VPN, from our test location in Europe, BBC iPlayer showed “Sorry, BBC iPlayer isn’t available in your region.” On a UK server, these services played on the three VPNs:
- BBC iPlayer: live BBC One and on demand, on three UK servers per VPN. Sign-up requires a UK postcode, and a randomly generated one worked. See our BBC iPlayer abroad guide.
- ITVX: unblocked on each, with occasional detections on ExpressVPN. Our ITV abroad guide has the details.
- Channel 4 and NOW: unblocked on each VPN. Channel 4 requires a UK postcode. NOW is paid and requires a UK credit card.
The full channel list is in our guide to watching UK TV abroad. For UK banking, a shared VPN IP address can trigger a security check, and a dedicated UK IP address stays the same every session.
Best VPNs for a UK IP Address
1. NordVPN: Best for a Dedicated UK IP Address
Pros
- Dedicated IP in 3 UK cities
- Per-app kill switch
- Meshnet device linking
- Browser location spoofing
Cons
- Clashes with other VPN apps on same device
- Costly second year
NordVPN sells a dedicated IP address in three UK cities for about $4 extra a month, so banks and work logins see the same British IP address every time. Its regular UK network has 440+ servers, and the London server measured 184.73 Mbps with 41 ms of ping. BBC iPlayer took one to two seconds to start on NordVPN, and ITVX, Channel 4, and NOW played on it.
Our Windows test PC exposed one fault: with a second VPN app installed, NordVPN occasionally wouldn’t connect until we restarted it and signed in again. NordVPN’s cheapest tier, the Basic plan, stays below $3.50 a month when paid 27 months ahead.
2. Proton VPN: Best for UK City Coverage
Pros
- Servers in all 4 UK nations
- Built-in ad blocking
- Stealth for VPN blocks
- Secure Core routing
Cons
- Smart DNS missing
- My5 live blocked
Proton VPN covers England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland with 849 UK servers in six cities. Its UK server measured 178.89 Mbps with 45 ms of ping, and Stealth cost under 2% of that speed for networks that block VPNs. BBC iPlayer took about three seconds to start, and ITVX works with it. My5 on-demand played, but My5 Live TV showed a black screen. UK servers are part of the paid VPN Plus plan, and a two-year term keeps it close to $3 each month.
3. ExpressVPN: Best for London Location Choice
Pros
- 5 London-area locations
- 1-second iPlayer start
- Fastest UK download
Cons
- Occasional ITVX detections
- Basic settings only
ExpressVPN recorded the fastest UK result, 185.74 Mbps with 42 ms of ping, on plain Lightway. Five of its seven UK locations are in London, so it’s easy to switch to another London IP address when a site flags one. BBC iPlayer started in one second, and ITVX detected it a few times during tests. Prepay 28 months of the Basic plan and ExpressVPN costs a little below $3 a month.
Get a UK IP Address for Free
Windscribe, PrivadoVPN, and Hide.me include a UK server on their free plans. The monthly limit on each is 10 GB. At iPlayer’s default quality, 30 minutes used about 650 MB, so 10 GB covers roughly seven hours.
- Windscribe: 182.21 Mbps in the UK. iPlayer and Channel 4 played, and it allows unlimited devices, but the connection stops at the data limit.
- PrivadoVPN: 180.04 Mbps, with live BBC One and Channel 4 unblocked. The allowance requires a manual renewal each month, and after 10 GB the speed falls to 1 Mbps.
- Hide.me: 152.31 Mbps, the slowest free UK server we measured. BBC iPlayer showed “This content is not available in your location.”
Proton VPN’s free plan assigns a country at random, and it never gave us a UK server. For more free services, see our free VPN rankings.
Proxy or Tor for a UK IP Address?
Proxies work in a single browser or app and rarely encrypt traffic, and free UK proxies often stop working. Tor Browser can be set to route through UK relays, but its speed suits browsing more than video. Either works for a quick check of a UK website, and neither replaces a VPN for streaming or banking.
Verdict
A UK IP address is quick and cheap to get. Each VPN we tested lost 6% of speed or less on a UK server, and two free plans unblocked BBC iPlayer. For bank and work logins, NordVPN sells a fixed British IP address as an add-on.
Proton VPN covers the most UK cities, including Cardiff and Belfast. ExpressVPN had the fastest UK result and the most London locations. For occasional use, Windscribe and PrivadoVPN cover about seven hours of iPlayer a month at no cost.
Try NordVPN for a UK IP Address
FAQs
Can I get a UK IP address for free?
Yes. Windscribe, PrivadoVPN, and Hide.me offer UK servers on their free plans with 10 GB a month. Windscribe and PrivadoVPN unblocked BBC iPlayer, while Hide.me's free UK server was blocked.
How do I get a London IP address?
Connect to a London server in a VPN app. NordVPN, Proton VPN, and ExpressVPN have London, and ExpressVPN offers five London-area locations, including Docklands and Wembley.
Does a UK IP address unblock BBC iPlayer?
Yes, on a VPN that iPlayer doesn't detect. iPlayer also requires a free BBC account with a UK postcode, and sign-up includes a TV license confirmation.
How can I check that my IP address is in the UK?
Open whatismyipaddress.com or a similar lookup site once the VPN connects. It should show a British city and a UK internet provider or hosting company, matching the server chosen in the VPN app.
Can I keep the same UK IP address every time?
Yes, with a dedicated IP address. NordVPN offers one in three UK cities as a paid add-on, which helps with banks and work systems that flag changing IP addresses.
Is using a UK IP address legal?
Yes. VPNs are legal in Britain and most other countries. Watching streaming services through one can break their terms of service, and the usual consequence is a blocked stream.