Last Update: May 3, 2022
VPNs allow you to bypass any geo-restrictions that you may encounter while using Roku. Thus, you can say that they go hand in hand with each other. With that being said, it’s quite difficult to settle on the right provider to use for Roku due to the number of options available. Luckily, I am here to provide a helping hand so that you may have the best possible Roku VPN experience.
Just in case you're in a hurry, our most recommended VPN for Roku is NordVPN.
There are the steps needed to use a VPN service provider with Roku:
Start off by getting a VPN. Which provider should you settle with? I suggest either NordVPN, Surshark, ExpressVPN, VyprVPN, or IPVanish. Why? Because these are excellent performers that don’t have trouble getting across geoblocks without causing buffering.
In addition, these five provide you with the utmost levels of digital protection. When connected to their many servers, you can be certain that your privacy and security shall remain intact.
You will have to install your new VPN on your device. For smartphones, laptops, desktops, and streaming boxes like Roku, this procedure is fully automatic. However, for routers, you’ll most likely need to go through a rather technical installation process that’s not beginner-friendly.
Open up your VPN’s application then connect to a server. Make sure to pick a location that’s in the country with a streaming library that you wish to unblock. Also, it would be nice to choose a server that’s nearer as it’s more likely to be faster.
The last thing to do is open Roku and start streaming your preferred service. While doing this, make sure to not disconnect from your VPN. How come? Because you’ll instantly get blocked when that’s done. On top of that, you shall become open to attacks from cybercriminals.
Streaming Capabilities: NordVPN doesn’t have problems with nearly all of the geoblocks that it is made to face. This is due in large part to its massive server network that’s made up of over 5000+ locations that can, for the most part, reliably work around streaming site geo-restrictions.
Speed & Performance: Many claim that NordVPN is the world’s fastest VPN provider. Though I don’t think this is necessarily true, the fact that people make that statement should speak for how fast NordVPN is. When using it, it’s guaranteed that all your needs shall meet all your needs. Browsing the internet shall be buttery-smooth and torrenting will be extremely quick.
One important thing to know about NordVPN is that it was once hacked. During the unfortunate incident, no piece of private user information got stolen. Nevertheless, the provider’s reputation took a large hit. Because of this, its developers have been striving to regain the public’s trust. A good example of what they’ve done so far is to establish a successful global bug bounty program.
Other Features: As expected for a provider of its ranking, NordVPN employs military-grade AES 256-bit encryption. It allows you to pair that with a wide range of protocols, including WireGuard, which NordVPN has a proprietary version of known as NordLynx.
The many NordVPN applications and browser extensions in existence all come equipped with a wide range of features. Prime examples of which include double VPN and Onion Over VPN. In addition, there’s also your standard automatic kill switch and ad & malware blocker. And finally, if you’re wondering, NordVPN supports up to five same-time device pairings per user account.
Pricing: NordVPN is a premium VPN that’s friendly towards budget consumers. Its most basic one-month play will run you back a mere $8.87, which is very impressive. After all, most VPNs of its rank have very similar offerings but charge 10% to 20% more.
Streaming Capabilities: Surfshark doesn’t break any sweat when used to circumvent even the toughest of geo-restrictions. It’s almost as if its servers were built specifically to provide access to otherwise unavailable streaming libraries. You’ll definitely be impressed like I was with the sheer level of reliability they have.
Speed & Performance: If pitted in a marathon against NordVPN and ExpressVPN, there is a large chance that Surfshark would win. That’s because its servers are blazingly fast. In fact, they almost don’t make an impact on base internet connection speeds. As such, they are perfect for streamers, gamers, and generally anyone who needs to have fast internet.
Your privacy and security are two things that Surfshark takes very seriously. All its servers are RAM-disk enabled, meaning they’re fully unable to store private logging information. Thus, the provider is one of the very few that can truly back up its zero-logging policy.
Surfshark uses standard AES-256 encryption together with SHA-512 hash authentication and an RSA-4096 handshake. Aside from that, it also makes use of ChaCha on Android devices as a backup if ever AES 256-bit encryption becomes compromised in any manner.
Other Features: You have a wide selection of protocols to choose from when using Surfshark. The provider has even recently rolled out WireGuard support. For consumers, this is great as WireGuard is regarded by experts to be the safest and quickest recently-established protocol.
You should also know that Surfshark’s many user-friendly apps have an extensive range of VPN security features that you can take advantage of. On top of that, Surfshark offers several paid add-ons. An example of this is an alert system that tells you if your data has been leaked.
Pricing: The prices of Surfshark are relatively high. For a monthly subscription plan, you must dish out $12.95. While this is more expensive than what most rival VPNs charge, we think it is well worth it because Surfshark does not have a limit on simultaneous device connections.
Streaming Capabilities: ExpressVPN is a great VPN solution for cinephiles using Roku since it is very consistent. During my many years with the provider, only seldom was I blocked by the streaming service that I was using. Of course, this shouldn’t be surprising since the server network of ExpressVPN is one of the world’s best, being made up of 3000+ locations.
Speed & Performance: You certainly won’t have a sluggish internet connection while paired to the many servers that ExpressVPN operates. Through testing, I have discovered that it’s easily among the world’s fastest VPNs. Even after pairing with the most distant possible location, you will still have a decent internet connection that absolutely won't bring forward streaming issues.
Security is another thing that ExpressVPN excels at. It was the first-ever major VPN service to have a network that’s 100% RAM-based. Also, it’s amongst the first to subject itself to regular independent audits that are done by PwC, which is a world-renowned online security firm.
Other Features: ExpressVPN uses AES-256 encryption and maintains support for every popular VPN protocol except for WireGuard. In its place, the provider has Lightway, which is 100% proprietary. It has been dubbed by online security experts to be just as fast and secure.
Sadly though, ExpressVPN doesn’t have much in the way in regards to exclusive features. As a matter of fact, the VPN service provider even lacks a dedicated malware blocker. Hence, those in need of one shall need to subscribe to and download another piece of software.
With all that being said, it would be wrong to say that ExpressVPN isn’t secure. After all, it has over the years proven to the world that it’s a VPN to be trusted. Apart from that, it isn’t entirely void of security features since it boasts split tunneling and an excellent automatic kill switch.
Pricing: ExpressVPN is not the best option for those who’ve got little to spend. It charges you $12.95 for a monthly subscription plan. If you remember, this is the same amount that its rival Surfshark charges. However, the major difference between the two is that ExpressVPN allows for only up to five simultaneous connections while Surfshark doesn’t have any limits.
Streaming Capabilities: VyprVPN, despite having a small network of 700+ servers, can grant access to most of the streaming platforms available on Roku. It was quite surprising to find this out when I was testing the service. That’s due to the fact that on paper, it seems like VyprVPN couldn’t hold its own when it comes to unblocking restricted streaming platforms.
Speed & Performance: The speed capabilities of VyprVPN aren’t as good as that of the three VPNs we discussed earlier. In spite of that, it would be wrong to call the service slow. My tests have proven that it’s rather quick. While connected to its network, you can most certainly surf the web, play games, and stream movies without any sort of interruptions.
You can bet that VyprVPN shall keep you safeguarded and completely anonymous. The VPN employs AES 256-bit encryption, making it free of any leaks. Besides that, it has a number of handy security features that we’ll discuss in a bit. When used, these features further level up your VPN experience.
Other Features: The various applications of VyprVPN are all user-friendly, highly configurable, and a breeze to install. Each of them is built with essential VPN features such as a kill switch, malware blocker, and split tunneling. Hence, they are sure to suffice for all of your VPN needs.
In addition to what’s aforementioned, you should also know that VyprVPN supports many VPN protocols. The provider even allows you to toggle both Chameleon and WireGuard, which are still uncommon protocols that not many VPN providers maintain support for.
Pricing: VyprVPN, without a doubt, is a budget VPN. However, its monthly plan is expensive, costing $12.95. For that reason, anyone who chooses the provider and wishes to get the best bargain should purchase one of its long-term subscription plans.
Streaming Capabilities: IPVanish’s streaming capabilities are “good enough” to say the least. It can only provide consistent access to the US libraries of streaming platforms. For many, this certainly is enough to meet their needs. However, for cinephiles like myself, the service will not satisfy, which is rather unfortunate.
Speed & Performance: The servers of IPVanish are slower than your average VPN server. In fact, they are very likely to cause hiccups with your internet connection. Be that as it may, they can still be used for gaming and streaming purposes if you don’t mind lag as well as buffering.
Like all the other providers on this list, IPVanish employed military-grade AES encryption. With that, it allows you to toggle a wide assortment of VPN protocols. Sadly, it has yet to implement support for WireGuard. Thus, those who want to use it are best off with a different VPN service.
Other Features: IPVanish’s native applications need a little bit more polish. That being said, I still think they may be used by first-timers. Plus, they have got many redeeming qualities. For example, although they are difficult to navigate they’re very highly configurable. Due to that, their users can tune their VPN experience more precisely.
All IPVanish subscriptions entitle you to an automatic kill switch and dedicated ad & malware blocker. Moreover, they also let you use split tunneling and double VPN.
Pricing: IPVanish has always catered to the budget segment of the VPN market. With that in mind, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the provider charges only $9.99 for a one-month subscription plan. This gives it superb value as it’s the only other major VPN aside from Surfshark that allows for unlimited simultaneous device connections.
It was easy to determine which VPNs were the best for Roku. We simply tested every leading provider out there to know which ones performed the best. In addition to that, we also looked into which available options had the best native apps and browser extensions.
Performance and features aren’t everything when it comes to VPNs. For a particular service to be regarded as the best, it should provide incredible value. An example of such a provider is Surfshark, which allows for unlimited simultaneous device connections per subscription.
Free VPNs are best avoided by any type of VPN user. That’s because they’re not as secure as they have fewer features than their paid counterparts. On top of that, they’ve got smaller server networks, meaning they are far less able to maintain your online anonymity.
Several free VPN providers even compromise your digital security instead of fortifying it. How? By secretly collecting your information then selling it to various entities that then show you intrusive targeted ads. These advertisements can easily ruin your browsing experience.
The reason why some free VPNs do this is to make money. You see, since they don’t charge their users, they have to find a different way to make money. Often, this is using the process mentioned above. With that said, there are still many free VPNs that are truly safe to utilize.
If you’ve got absolutely zero budget but still want a VPN, you should use ProtonVPN or Windscribe. While both aren’t feature-rich, they’re known to have a clean security record. As such, you can trust them with all your private information, which is something that cannot be said for many of the other free VPNs.
In most parts of the world, it’s perfectly legal to use VPNs with Roku. However, since laws vary, we suggest that you make sure that using virtual private networks legal in your area. In case they are, break the law at your own risk. Please note, we at VPN Thrive don’t condone any illegal activity in any jurisdiction in the world.
