YouTube VPNs unblock geo-locked YouTube videos, which are videos that can’t be accessed in specific territories due to copyright issues. Google (YouTube’s parent company) also enforces censorship to comply with local administrations. To bypass this censorship, users can utilize a YouTube VPN.

Oftentimes, entire countries block YouTube. While some have permanent bans, others restrict usage during a specific timeline. For instance, global versions of YouTube are currently banned in Pakistan, China, and Iran. Likewise, users across countries such as Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Brazil, and Finland were occasionally deprived of YouTube content in the past.

However, you don’t have to be a victim of geo-censorship since the Geekflare team has researched, tested, and curated a list of the best YouTube VPNs based on their user experience, security posture, and price.

You can trust Geekflare

At Geekflare, trust and transparency are paramount. Our team of experts, with over 185 years of combined experience in business and technology, tests and reviews software, ensuring our ratings and awards are unbiased and reliable. Learn how we test.

Proton VPN

Overall Best

Geekflare rating score 4.5 out of 5
4.5
|

Proton VPN is based in Switzerland and has over 8,000 servers in over 110 countries. This VPN providerโ€™s apps are open-source and available for public scrutiny and audit.

The VPN provider has a strict no-logs policy and a wealth of extra security features, including Tor over VPN, perfect forward secrecy, secure core (double VPN), obfuscation (Stealth protocol), kill switch, and class-leading encryption (AES-256 and ChaCha20).

You can choose from WireGuard, OpenVPN, or Stealth (Proton’s in-house implementation).

proton vpn

Users also get an ad-blocker to eliminate annoying ads, trackers, and malicious scripts. Other notable additions include custom DNS, split tunneling, 10 device coverage per subscription, and fully encrypted VPN servers.

Proton VPN is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Chromebook, Android, Android TV, iOS/iPad, Chrome, and Firefox.

ProtonVPN Pros

  • Advantage

    Forever free plan

  • Advantage

    Extensive server network and native apps

  • Advantage

    One of the best security postures in the entire VPN industry

ProtonVPN Cons

  • Advantage

    Subpar customer support

  • Advantage

    Limited payment channels (card and PayPal)

Proton VPN Pricing

Proton VPN offers a free tier with limited servers. All the paid plans offer the exact same features and only differ in their subscription duration.

  • 1-Month: $9.99/month
  • 1-Year: $4.99/month
  • 2-Year: $4.49/month

Note: Proton also offers an “unlimited” subscription starting at $7.99/month for anyone interested in their complete package, including Mail, Calendar, Drive, VPN, Pass(word Manager), and (a crypto) Wallet.

Try ProtonVPN

ExpressVPN

Best for Uninterrupted Entertainment

Geekflare rating score 4.2 out of 5
4.2
|

ExpressVPN is a fully featured VPN service with a built-in ad blocker and anti-malware tool. It also offers DNS leak protection, split tunneling, a network kill switch, and more.

The tool deploys the tried-and-tested AES-256-bit encryption to ensure data stays private. Users can connect to its servers via OpenVPN, IKEv2, and Lightway, its in-house protocol.

The VPN has a decent cross-platform presence, with native applications for Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, and Android. Additionally, you can use it on WiFi routers and as a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. It also offers two variants of its WiFi router, Aircove, with built-in ExpressVPN protection.

ExpressVPN is right up there with NordVPN when it comes to jaw-dropping streaming performance, as evidenced in our NordVPN vs ExpressVPN comparison.

Since issues with VPNs aren’t uncommon, ExpressVPN has got users covered by its 24/7 live chat.

ExpressVPN Pros

  • Advantage

    Excellent customer support

  • Advantage

    Near flawless streaming unblocking record

  • Advantage

    Crypto payment (Bitcoin)

ExpressVPN Cons

  • Advantage

    More expensive than equally performant peers

  • Advantage

    Lacks advanced features like multi-hop, Tor over VPN, etc.

ExpressVPN Pricing

ExpressVPN is one of the most expensive VPN services, with an introductory plan at $6.67/month (if paid annually). It has many payment options, including card, PayPal, and Bitcoin.

  • 1-Month: $12.95
  • 6-Month: $9.99/month
  • 12-Months: $6.67/month
Try ExpressVPN

NordVPN

The Most Feature-Loaded VPN

Geekflare rating score 4.2 out of 5
4.2
|

NordVPN is among the front-runners for anyone looking for an excellent YouTube VPN. It has over 6,000 servers in 111 countries. In addition to this expansive geographical presence, NordVPN is loaded with split tunneling, a kill switch, DNS leak protection, an ad blocker, and more.

Moreover, users have top privacy and security with NordVPN’s server obfuscation, double VPN, Tor over VPN, and private DNS.

nord youtube vpn

NordVPN supports 3 protocols: OpenVPN, IKEv2/IPSec, and NordLynxโ€”it’s in-house, WireGuard-based development.

The VPN platform has excellent support for multiple devices and operating systems. It provides native applications for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. You can also use NordVPN with their WiFi router, Apple TV, and Android TV.

NordVPN Pros

  • Advantage

    Loaded with premium features for security and streaming

  • Advantage

    Top-notch support

  • Advantage

    Excellent cross-platform presence

  • Advantage

    Flexible payment options (card, PayPal, and crypto)

NordVPN Cons

  • Advantage

    Expensive monthly subscription

  • Advantage

    Advanced malware and browsing protection not provided with the base tier

NordVPN Pricing

NordVPN has plans for monthly, annual, and bi-annual payment cycles. Each subscription duration has 3 tiers again based on whether users want just the VPN or add-ons as well.

Plan Type1-Month1-Year2-YearsOffering
Basic$12.99/month$4.59/month$3.59/monthVPN
Plus$13.99/month$5.49/month$4.49/monthVPN + Anti-malware, browsing protection, and password manager
Complete$14.99/month$6.49/month$5.49/monthVPN + Anti-malware, browsing protection, password manager, and encrypted cloud storage
Try NordVPN

Hotspot Shield

45-Day Full Refund Guarantee

Geekflare rating score 3.7 out of 5
3.7
|

Hotspot Shield comes with an extensive array of 1,800+ servers in over 80 countries worldwide.

While it boasts itself as the worldโ€™s fastest VPN, I wouldnโ€™t take that claim too seriously because VPN speeds depend on many factors, such as server load, server distance, user location, and content type. Therefore, one server performing well for a content website (like Netflix) for a specific user can perform worse for another user located elsewhere streaming another site (like YouTube).

Hotspot Shield has 3 protocols under the hood: OpenVPN, IPsec, and Hydra. The last one is its in-house effort to provide fast streaming speeds.

hotspot shield vpn

This VPN equips users with Tor over VPN, DNS leak protection, and obfuscation technology as advanced security measures.

You can deploy Hotspot Shield on multiple platforms, such as Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, Smart TV, Routers, and Chrome. However, before you opt for this VPN, you should know that it was accused of user privacy violation.

Hotspot Shield Pros

  • Advantage

    Industry-leading 45-day full refund guarantee

  • Advantage

    Streaming and gaming-optimized servers

  • Advantage

    Forever free tier

Hotspot Shield Cons

  • Advantage

    Expensive compared to the well-known competition, including ProtonVPN and NordVPN

  • Advantage

    Accused of shady user privacy practices

Hotspot Shield Pricing

The free tier allows you to connect 1 device to 1 virtual location. Paid plan presents simultaneous 10 device connections, gaming and streaming mode, all server locations, and more for $6.66/month.

Try Hotspot Shield

VyprVPN

Slick User Interface

Geekflare rating score 4 out of 5
4
|

VyprVPN has an excellent reputation for protecting usersโ€™ privacy with its 700+ VPN servers over 96 worldwide locations. It has you covered for frequently venturing in and out of public WiFi networks. The platform also provides a kill switch, DNS leak protection, and split tunneling.

The one glaring omission from VyprVPN is an ad blocker. However, you can install third-party applications, such as uBlock Origin, for the same.

vyprvpn

It supports 4 VPN protocols, including IPsec, OpenVPN, WireGuard, and Chameleon. VyprVPN has coded Chameleon specifically to navigate the highly restricted internet censorship atmosphere in countries like China. Users also get access to Vypr’s own DNS servers for additional privacy.

VyprVPN has native applications for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, which users can install to protect five devices on a single subscription.

VyprVPN Pros

  • Advantage

    Streaming optimized servers

  • Advantage

    Helpful customer support

  • Advantage

    Excellent for bypassing censorship in strict countries

VyprVPN Cons

  • Advantage

    Lack of native applications for smart TVs, Linux, etc.

  • Advantage

    Advanced users will miss features such as Tor over VPN and multi-hop

VyprVPN Pricing

VyprVPN has 3 subscriptions, as given below.

  • 1-Month: $10/month
  • 12-Month: $5/month
  • 24-Month: $3/month
Try VyprVPN

TunnelBear

Strong Focus on User Privacy

Geekflare rating score 4 out of 5
4
|

TunnelBear VPN is popular for its user-friendly interface. Itโ€™s one of the most straightforward and privacy-focused VPN providers, with 8,000 servers stationed in 47 countries. Every year, it undergoes third-party security audits and publishes the results openly for all.

This VPN service has covered all bases with a kill switch, custom DNS, split tunneling, and more. It uses industry-standard AES-256-bit encryption by default.

TunnelBear did not develop its own protocol like many of its peers. Nonetheless, the protocol list is healthy with WireGuard, OpenVPN, and IKEv2 on board.

tunnelber

While the list of advanced features isn’t long, users can enjoy server obfuscation to hide their VPN connectivity. Besides, TunnelBear allows the selection of city-level servers, which is another standout feature.

TunnelBear has apps for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

TunnelBear Pros

  • Advantage

    Free tier

  • Advantage

    Unlimited connections per subscription

TunnelBear Cons

  • Advantage

    Lacks double VPN, Tor over VPN, etc.

  • Advantage

    Limited global footprint

TunnelBear Pricing

Users get 2GB of free data for testing. Paid plans start from $3.33/month for individuals and $5.75/user/month for teams (minimum 2+ users).

Try TunnelBear

Mullvad VPN

Best for Low Data Collection Practices

Geekflare rating score 4.4 out of 5
4.4
|

Users who are looking for the most privacy-respecting atmosphere should turn to Mullvad VPN.

Mullvad doesn’t ask for your email, phone number, or address. Instead, everything is managed via an anonymous account number generated at the time of registration, and you can pay in crypto. Put simply, they haven’t cut corners on user privacy.

While Mullvad VPN doesn’t boast a flashy user interface, everything works perfectly, including connections, kill switches, double VPN, split tunneling, and more. Users can connect to its servers using WireGuard and OpenVPN protocols.

mullvad vpn

Mullvad VPN users also benefit from Letaโ€”a private search engine. It deploys a proxy server to query Google and Brave search on behalf of the users to avoid search engine tracking, which is routinely used in internet profiling and targeted advertisement. Users are free to choose their preferred search engine, Google or Brave.

The VPN service also doesn’t keep its users in the dark about its servers. It clearly mentions whether a specific server is owned by itself or rented. However, its server network is comparatively small, with 690 servers across 84 cities in 47 countries.

Mullvad VPN has apps for Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, and Android. You can also set it up on WiFi routers using OpenWRT and DD-WRT firmware.

Mullvad VPN Pros

  • Advantage

    Privacy-first VPN

  • Advantage

    Anonymous user registration and crypto payments

  • Advantage

    Flat price, irrespective of subscription period

Mullvad VPN Cons

  • Advantage

    Lacks native apps for smart TV platforms

  • Advantage

    Although straightforward, UI does look slightly unpolished

Mullvad VPN Pricing

Mullvad VPN offers the same monthly pricing for all its plans, irrespective of the plan’s duration. Users have to pay โ‚ฌ5 monthly, which is approximately $5.39/month (at the time of writing).

Try Mullvad VPN

Surfshark

Best Price to Performance Ratio

Geekflare rating score 4.8 out of 5
4.8
|

Surfshark is a robust VPN service that offers unlimited connections per subscription. It also provides a kill switch, double VPN, DNS protection, and obfuscated servers.

The VPN service prevents annoying adverts with its CleanWeb AdBlock. Youโ€™ll also have access to Bypasser (aka split tunneling) to let some apps run without VPN encryption at normal speeds.

You can connect to Surfshark’s 3,200+ servers in 100 countries via WireGuard, IKEv2, and OpenVPN.

surfshark vpn

One unique feature of Surfshark is the choice of static IP servers, which you can use to remotely host websites or game servers. Unlike other servers, static IP servers keep the IP address the same throughout the connections.

The VPN service also lets you fake your GPS location to match its servers on Android devices. Besides, you can turn on IP rotation to change your IP address every few minutes.

Surfshark has native applications for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, Apple TV, FireTV, Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

Surfshark Pros

  • Advantage

    Unlimited simultaneous connections

  • Advantage

    Unique privacy features, including GPS override, IP rotation, and VPN obfuscation

  • Advantage

    24/7 Live chat and email support

  • Advantage

    Crypto payments

Surfshark Cons

  • Advantage

    Customer service needs improvement

  • Advantage

    Unreliable P2P performance

Surfshark Pricing

Surfshark has no free tier, but its price-to-performance ratio is one of the best in the industry for a 2-year term. Its plan pricing, plan duration, and offerings are listed in the table below.

Plan Type1-Month1-Year2-YearOffering
Starter$15.45$2.99$1.99VPN
One$17.95$3.39$2.49VPN + Data breach alerts + Malware protection
One+$20.65$5.99$3.99VPN + Data breach alerts + Malware protection + Data removal
Try Surfshark

Hide.me

Excellent Protocol Support

Geekflare rating score 4 out of 5
4
|

In our hunt for a decent YouTube VPN, this one has a perfect name: Hide Me. This VPN has 2,600+ servers in 91 locations across 6 continents.

It offers a long list of VPN protocols, including WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 IPsec, SoftEther, and SSTP. Likewise, users benefit from a decent cross-platform presence with apps for Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, iOS, smart TVs (Apple TV, Android TV, and FireTV), etc. You can also use this service as a browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. Moreover, Hide.me has guides to set up its VPN on popular router firmware, such as DD-WRT, OpenWRT, and Tomato.

Hide.me offers a kill switch, split tunneling, adblocker, multi-hop, and dynamic port forwarding and offers 10 simultaneous connections with a single subscription.

hide.me

Users can list specific apps or everything within its StealthGuard to work only with a VPN connection. While this sounds like a conventional kill switch implementation, it also allows app selection, which isn’t easily provided. For instance, users can configure torrenting apps to only work with an active Hide.me connection, thereby preventing ISPs to catch P2P activity with the actual IP address.

Another benefit of Hide.me is its streaming-optimized servers, which allow users to access entertainment services from 20 countries, including the US and the UK.

Hide.me Pros

  • Advantage

    Native IPv6 Support

  • Advantage

    Streaming servers in multiple locations

  • Advantage

    Advanced kill switch (StealthGuard)

  • Advantage

    Extensive protocol support

Hide.me Cons

  • Advantage

    Smaller server network

  • Advantage

    User interface is clunky

Hide.Me Pricing

Hide.me has a forever free VPN tier, offering 8 locations, 1 connection, and unlimited data with restricted speeds. The fully featured experience, including all servers and top-notch speeds, is reserved for the following paid tiers.

  • 1-Month: $9.95/month
  • 12-Month: $4.49/month
  • 24-Month: $2.59/month
Try Hide.me

Avast SecureLine VPN

Best for Non-Tech Savvy Users

Geekflare rating score 4.1 out of 5
4.1
|

Avast, the antivirus behemoth, has recently entered an already competitive VPN industry. Its Avast SecureLine VPN has servers in 36 countries. While the server network is smaller compared to its peers, it shouldnโ€™t bother any informed VPN user. Practically, you just need a single well-maintained VPN server in the location of your choice.

Avast SecureLine VPN has very few features, namely a kill switch and Smart VPN mode (faintly similar to split tunneling). It automatically turns on the VPN based on user-defined parameters, such as public networks, torrent apps, banking websites, etc. Advanced features such as double VPN, rotating IP, Tor over VPN, etc., aren’t provided.

avast secureline vpn

Users can connect to Avast SecureLine VPN servers via WireGuard, OpenVPN, and Mimicโ€”its in-house protocol. However, the highlight of this VPN is its simplicity for non-tech-savvy users and specialty servers (streaming and P2P).

Avast Secureline works on Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. It also has extensions for Chrome and Firefox.

Avast SecureLine Pros

  • Advantage

    60-Day Free Trial

  • Advantage

    Ease of use

Avast SecureLine Cons

  • Advantage

    Lack of advanced features

  • Advantage

    Smaller server footprint

Avast SecureLine VPN Pricing

Avast SecureLine VPN doesn’t offer a monthly plan. Instead, all its plans are available for longer terms, with a 1-year plan being the shortest. The pricing plans are listed below:

  • 1 Year: $4.59/month ($55.08/first year)
  • 2 Years: $4.39/month ($105.36/first 2 years)
  • 3 Years: $4.39/month ($158.04/first 3 years)
Try Avast SecureLine VPN

Best YouTube VPNs Comparison Table

Here is a quick comparison table to help you check YouTube VPNs with the important parameters, such as adblocking, kill switch, DNS leak protection, multiple device support, and split tunneling.

VPN ProviderBuilt-in AdblockerKill SwitchDNS Leak ProtectionSplit TunnelingSimultaneous Connections
Proton VPNโœ…โœ…โœ…โœ…10
ExpressVPNโœ…โœ…โœ…โœ…8
NordVPNโœ…โœ…โœ…โœ…10
Hotspot Shieldโœ…โœ…โœ…โœ…10
VyprVPNโŒโœ…โœ…โœ…10
TunnelBearโœ…โœ…โœ…โœ…Unlimited
Mullvad VPNโœ…โœ…โœ…โœ…5
Surfsharkโœ…โœ…โœ…โœ…Unlimited
Hide.meโœ…โœ…โœ…โœ…10
Avast SecureLine VPNโŒโœ…โŒโŒ10

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