Can You Put A Vpn On A Fire Stick

The best Amazon Fire TV Stick VPN 2021

Amazon Fire TV Stick product image against a yellow background

(Image credit: Amazon)

Installing a VPN on to your Amazon Fire TV Stick is a great way to make the handy streaming device even more useful. Especially if you like to take your Fire Stick away with you overseas and constantly find that your favorite apps and streaming services are blocked.

A Fire TV VPN means you can transport your IP address and spoof your device into thinking you're elsewhere. With an Amazon Fire TV Stick VPN ready to go, you'll be able to instantly stream as if from the comfort of your own home.

In the same vein, for any sporting fans or if you're after a particular show that hasn't been picked up by a broadcaster where you are, you can easily change your IP to be in one of the countries where it is available to stream as if you're there.

How to choose your Amazon Fire TV Stick VPN

First thing's first, you want a provider that has a dedicated Fire TV VPN app. That means once you've signed up for an account with your VPN of choice, you can then simply nip to the Amazon Appstore and install the corresponding app for your Stick. Having that app means you can avoid having to set things up manually - all of the recommended Amazon Fire TV Stick VPNs we recommend below have such a dedicated app.

Performance is always important for streaming, so you want a VPN provider that offers fast and reliable connections. A plentiful server count is helpful for finding a swift server – the more options you have, the better. And of course ensure that the provider carries servers in the region where your favorite shows are available.

Today's top 3 best Amazon Fire TV Stick VPNs:

Don't own one yet? These are today's best Amazon Fire Stick prices

The best 5 Amazon Fire Stick VPNs:

ExpressVPN interface shown working with an Amazon Fire TV Stick — (Image credit: ExpressVPN)

1. ExpressVPN

Best all-round VPN - fast and fantastic for Fire TV

Great speeds for apps

Huge range of servers and locations

Fantastic customer service

So simple to use

Not the cheapest provider

ExpressVPN is our top pick for the best all-round VPN, and also specifically for Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. With 3,000 servers in 160 locations worldwide, this provider offers a lot of connection choices.

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Express is known for its quality apps and that include its Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick version, which can be navigated with the remote control. When you fire it up, the app immediately recommends the location that gives you the best connection speed. Talking of connection speeds, these were really impressive in both the US and Europe - and even some locations further afield.

In our testing, we confirmed that ExpressVPN unblocks Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer and a wide range of other streaming services. ExpressVPN also provides Fire TV-compatible MediaStreamer DNS services, for those who wish to unblock content even when not connected to the VPN. It's probably the most impressive service for streaming on the market.

ExpressVPN offers an excellent level of technical support, including lots of troubleshooting guides and 24/7 live chat support, plus you can also get in touch via email if that's more convenient. The privacy policy clearly explains that the company doesn't collect or log traffic data, connection IPs, or browsing activity from individual users.

Price plans aren't the cheapest, but may be worth the added cost for the best possible streaming experience on Fire TV - especially now that it also throws in a whole year of free and unlimited secure cloud backup via Backblaze. The pricing is also mitigated by ExpressVPN's 'no hassle' money-back guarantee which allows you to try the full service for up to 30 days, with no sneaky small print restrictions on bandwidth or similar.

NordVPN's Amazon Fire TV Stick VPN interface — (Image credit: NordVPN)

2. NordVPN

Traditionally one of the most secure and speediest VPNs

Above-average speeds

Top-notch security features

Great support

Not as good as others on mobile

In our testing, NordVPN delivered very good performance, with impressive speeds on short connections, and some very serviceable results with longer distances. There are plenty of servers to choose from, too - over 5,000 in total!

As well as the dedicated Amazon TV app that you can download from Amazon Appstore and use with your Fire TV, Nord's online tutorials can also help you get the VPN set up on your router as well.

Much like Express and, frankly, all the providers here on this page, NordVPN has really brought its A-game when it comes to getting you around blocks put on watching streaming services from abroad. So wherever you take your Fire Stick, you'll be able to access your usual catalogs of Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Peacock and pretty much all the big names. The same goes for live streaming, too, which is a bonus for sport fans.

NordVPN excels on the security front, offering double data encryption (where your connection gets passed through two separate VPN servers), along with support for all the major security protocols. On top of that, the firm has a 'no logs' policy, which has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Out of the available price plans (all of which have a 30-day money-back guarantee), the monthly plan is very expensive, but the multi-year subscription is fantastic value.

Surfshark VPN working on a TV — (Image credit: Surfshark)

3. Surfshark

Amazon Fire TV Stick VPNs don't come much more affordable

Very attractive pricing

Use on as many devices as you wish

Super easy to use

Not as feature-filled as competitors

Much like a lot of Amazon's branding itself, Surfshark's user experience is clear, straightforward and to the point. That's a good start, but there's plenty more to admire about this VPN in terms of its utility with Amazon Fire Stick.

Firstly, and just like the other services on this countdown, there's a dedicated Surfshark app that you can find and download quickly in the menus of the streaming device. Once active, using the app is super simple and you'll quickly find yourself navigating between servers and countries to settle on the one you need to enjoy your favorite shows and films.

In our wider VPN testing, we discovered that Surfshark enjoyed pretty speedy connections (Although not as fast as ExpressVPN or NordVPN). And it has to be noted that once you've subscribed to Surfshark, it then covers unlimited devices. So you can get it going on your phone, laptop, router, games console (as well as those of your friends and family) and still have the option to use it on your Fire TV Stick, too!

TV showing CyberGhost VPN being selected on the Amazon Fire TV Stick menu — (Image credit: CyberGhost)

4. CyberGhost

Such an easy-to-use VPN for Fire Stick

Good performance

Simple to use

Some streaming services left ublocked

This provider has a dedicated Fire TV Stick app, which can be found on Amazon Appstore, and if there are any problems installing the CyberGhost app, in-depth guides can be found on its website.

In our testing, the service performed really impressively with some really good performance levels, and there is a considerable amount of servers, too. The client is simple to use which can be important for newbies.

Now it's worth just exercising a bit of caution before you go ahead and install that CyberGhost Fire TV Stick VPN app though - it hasn't had the best track record of late when it comes to streaming prowess. The likes of Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and YouTube worked like a dream. But we came up against stiffer competition from BBC iPlayer in the UK, and the only region's Netflix exclusives we could get hold of were from its US catalog.

Security conscious users shouldn't worry as the provider uses all the standard protocols, including the IKEv2 and OpenVPN, with 256-AES encryption. While in the past there have been some privacy issues, the privacy-policy states the usual 'no-logs' policy and there doesn't seem to be any apparent privacy-related problems.

CyberGhost ups the ante when it comes to its credentials as a VPN with a free trial, as it has a whopping 45-day money back guarantee.

TV screen showing Private Internet Access app on the Amazon Fire TV Stick menu — (Image credit: Future)

5. Private Internet Access

Speedy VPN for seamless Fire Stick streaming

Strong with streaming services

Excellent long-term pricing

Great apps on other devices, too

Not as fast as some

App can be a tad tricky to find

Private Internet Access has established itself as one of the strongest VPN providers out there at the moment, and that's no different as an Amazon Fire TV Stick VPN.

It can take a little bit of finding in the Fire Stick app store, but it's there if you look hard enough (this is one time where having a slightly generic name doesn't help). Once located, it's as fast and easy as the other providers on this list to get it installed and working - as well as one of the very cheapest, if you're happy to commit to a longer subscription.

What you then find is that PIA is a very decent streaming VPN. It has the goods to unblock most major streaming services out there, including Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Hulu and more. Like all the rest, Netflix is no doddle these days, but we've still been able to access US Netflix from abroad using Private Internet Access.

PIA isn't yet speedy enough to make our fastest VPNs list, but it's still quick enough that you shouldn't experience any buffering (assuming your broadband speeds are quick enough, of course!). And assuming you want to use your VPN on other devices, PIA is an all-round great performer on other apps, too.

Amazon Fire TV Stick VPN FAQ

What VPN should I use for Fire Stick?

We think that the best Amazon Fire Stick right now is ExpressVPN. First and foremost, it's a doddle to set up and operate. So if you think that using a VPN with Amazon Fire TV sounds complicated, Express is living proof to the contrary. It also benefits from servers in nearly 100 countries, reliably fast connection speeds and the ability to get around geo-restrictions when it comes to streaming services like Netflix, iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, YouTube and many more.

What is an Amazon Fire TV stick?

We're guessing that if you've found your way to this page, then you probably already have a decent idea. But let us help if not.

Introduced way back in 2014, the Fire TV Stick is Amazon's rival to Chromecast and Roku. The device plugs into an HDMI port and allows any TV to stream content over a Wi-Fi network - basically turning the device into a very well-featured smart TV. They're super portable and ridiculously easy to use - just like the best Amazon Fire TV Stick VPNs on this list.

Amazon Fire TV Stick — (Image credit: Amazon)

How to install and use a VPN on Amazon Fire TV?

It's really, really easy - especially compared to using a VPN on games consoles and some other TV streaming services. That's because all of the best VPN providers have their own Amazon Fire TV apps.

So once you're signed up with one of the above services, head over to the Amazon Appstore and install the corresponding app. From there, it's just a couple more self-explanatory steps to turning on your VPN and selecting a location-appropriate server. You're ready to stream!

Is a free VPN enough for watching Amazon Fire TV?

In a word... no. One of the main drawbacks to most free VPNs is that they limit how much data can be used with its service - often with pretty strict maximums on a daily or monthly basis. So if you're planning some mighty Prime Video binges using your VPN, a freebie just isn't going to hold water.

Outside that, free providers often go pretty ad-heavy with their apps. And they don't tend to have those handy Amazon apps either, so you'll be resorting to awkward workarounds to get it working with your Fire TV Stick or Box.

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Adam is the Editor-in-Chief of Subscriptions and Services at Future, meaning that he oversees many of the articles TechRadar produces about antivirus software, VPNs, TV streaming, broadband and mobile phone contracts - from buying guides and deals news, to industry interest pieces and reviews.