Disclosure: We review VPNs independently, however we may earn commissions if you buy a VPN via links on our site.
EXPERT ADVICE: Most free Firestick VPNs are unsafe. We strongly recommend using a premium VPN like ExpressVPN, which unblocks streaming apps and hides Kodi activity from your ISP. Try ExpressVPN risk-free for 30 days.
Top-rated Firestick VPN apps prevent third parties, like internet service providers (ISPs) and copyright trolls, from snooping on your streaming activity.
A VPN on your Firestick hides your IP address so you can watch Kodi and IPTV streams anonymously. The best VPN services even unblock geo-restricted TV shows, movies, and live sporting events.
Based on our streaming tests, the best free VPN apps for Fire TV Stick in 2023 are:
The best free VPN for Firestick is Windscribe. The VPN service’s free Firestick app offers adequate streaming speeds, optimal privacy and security settings, and good unblocking capabilities.
While you may not want to pay for a VPN, sadly many free VPNs are insecure, and some are even dangerous. Moreover, many free VPNs don’t have a native app for Firestick.
The VPNs we recommend in this guide are completely free, reasonably fast, and safe to use. They’re also easy to set up on Fire TV devices.
All free Firestick VPNs have limitations, though. Either they restrict data usage, don’t unblock streaming apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, or they block P2P streams.
In short, free Firestick VPN apps simply don’t perform as well as the best premium VPNs for Fire TV Stick.
The table below compares the performance of the top free VPNs for Firestick in six key testing categories:
We’re completely independent and focused on VPN software. We’ve spent thousands of hours testing and reviewing Firestick VPNs using our Fire TV Stick VPN review process.
Here is an overview of our testing statistics for free and premium Firestick VPNs:
| Free VPN Apps Tested | 150+ |
| VPN Services Reviewed | 56 |
| Total Hours of Testing | 30,000+ |
| Weekly Speed Tests | 3,000+ |
| IP & DNS Leak Tests Performed | 9,500+ |
| Streaming Platforms Tested Daily | 12 |
The best free VPN for Firestick. Unblocks UK Netflix & BBC iPlayer.
Windscribe Free is the best free VPN we’ve tested for Fire TV Stick. It’s a well-designed Firestick VPN app that’s easy to install and use.
Also, the free VPN’s connection speeds are reasonably fast, particularly when connecting to nearby servers.
Windscribe’s VPN app for Firestick.
| Data Cap | 10GB |
|---|---|
| SpeedSpeedBased on 100Mbps local test connection | 54Mbps |
| Logging Policy | No Identifying Data |
| Support | Email & Online Resources Only |
| Servers | 11 |
| Compatible with |
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Best of all, the free version of Windscribe unblocks 6 Netflix libraries and BBC iPlayer. No other (safe) free VPN can do this on Firestick.
The VPN service also supports P2P traffic on all its free servers. This means you can use Windscribe with P2P-based streaming apps, too.
Moreover, Windscribe uses AES-256 encryption to secure your internet connection. The app doesn’t log user activity, and it doesn’t leak your real IP or DNS credentials.
The only downside to using Windscribe Free is its 10GB monthly data cap.
While it’s a generous allowance compared to free VPNs like TunnelBear and Avira, it limits the amount of streaming you can do. Try streaming in Standard Definition to maximize your monthly bandwidth.
Overall, Windscribe’s free VPN app is excellent for Firestick. It’s ideal for Fire TV users who are not prepared to buy a paid Firestick VPN.
The only safe free Firestick VPN with no data usage limits.
Proton VPN is the second-best free VPN application for Fire TV Stick. It’s the only safe free VPN with no data usage limits, and is also the fastest we’ve tested on our Fire TV Stick.
Proton VPN’s app on our test Firestick.
| Data Cap | Unlimited |
|---|---|
| SpeedSpeedBased on 100Mbps local test connection | 95Mbps |
| Logging Policy | No Identifying Data |
| Support | Email & Online Resources Only |
| Servers | 200 |
| Compatible with |
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What sets Proton VPN apart is that it doesn’t have any data usage caps in place.
Once installed, you can use the VPN as much as you want. This is the reason why we picked the VPN service as the best alternative VPN for Firestick.
Proton VPN comes with AES-256 encryption and built-in IP and DNS leak protection, which kept our true IP or DNS address hidden during our tests.
The VPN service also doesn’t log any personal web usage data.
Sadly, Proton VPN doesn’t unblock US Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu or BBC iPlayer.
The VPN service also doesn’t allow P2P traffic on its free servers. This is problematic, as it could get in way of streaming some P2P-based Kodi add-ons.
Having said that, it should easily stream IP multicast IPTV apps.
In short, Proton VPN is good for users in need of a free VPN with unlimited data. Just remember that it won’t unblock US Netflix, and it won’t let you use P2P-based apps.
Very private free VPN for Firestick with high encryption standards.
Hide.me Free isn’t perfect, but like Windscribe and Proton VPN, it’s one of the few secure free VPNs with a Fire TV Stick app.
It’s currently the most private free VPN application we’ve tested. It has a privacy-oriented logging policy, and several additional security settings other free VPNs lack.
Hide.me’s Firestick application.
| Data Cap | 10GB |
|---|---|
| SpeedSpeedBased on 100Mbps local test connection | 72Mbps |
| Logging Policy | No Identifying Data |
| Support | Live Chat |
| Servers | Not Disclosed |
| Compatible with |
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Hide.me is a very safe and private free VPN. It’s virtually no-logs, uses AES-256 encryption, and comes with DNS and IPv6 leak blocking, as well as a VPN kill switch.
Torrenting and P2P traffic is allowed on selected free VPN servers, which you can use for anonymously streaming P2P-based Kodi add-ons.
Like Windscribe, Hide.me enforces a 10GB monthly data usage policy. That equates to roughly 10 hours of streaming, which isn’t much.
If having unlimited data is essential for you, then Proton VPN is the better choice. Or, you can upgrade to Hide.me’s premium VPN service.
Sadly, the free version of Hide.me doesn’t work with US Netflix, and other popular streaming applications. This is partly due to the very limited server network available to free users.
All in all, Hide.me free VPN is a good alternative to Windscribe and Proton VPN. As long as you don’t care about unblocking streaming apps.
The outright best Firestick VPN, with fast speeds and a dedicated app for Fire TV Stick.
IPVanish is the best premium VPN for Amazon Fire TV Stick thanks to its fast speeds, P2P support, and dedicated Fire TV Stick app.
The VPN offers unlimited data, a no-logs policy, and one of the best-designed Fire TV apps we’ve seen. It also has plenty of Firestick and Kodi-specific features.
Sadly, IPVanish isn’t the best at unblocking geo-restricted video apps. In our latest tests, the VPN couldn’t unblock HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video or Disney+.
The home screen of IPVanish’s Fire TV app.
| Cheapest Price | $3.33/mo over 24 months See all plans |
|---|---|
| Data Cap | Unlimited |
| SpeedSpeedBased on 100Mbps local test connection | 84Mbps |
| Logging Policy | No Logs |
| Support | 24/7 Live Chat |
| Servers | 2,000 |
| Compatible with |
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IPVanish’s user-friendly Fire TV Stick app has clearly been designed with Fire TV’s interface in mind. It’s one of very few VPNs that does this well.
Advanced features like split tunneling, LAN exemption, and obfuscation are great additions for more advanced users. They’re also easy to find and use within the app.
IPVanish has clearly been built with anonymous streamers in mind. The VPN provides a network of 2,000 no-logs servers in 50 countries, all of which support P2P activity.
None of these VPN servers track or store your streaming activity, meaning you can access movie and TV show Kodi add-ons privately and securely.
Unsurprisingly, IPVanish is also the best VPN for Kodi for the same reasons.
Expect fast speeds when you’re connected to a nearby IPVanish server. In our recent speed tests, we recorded a download speed drop of under 10% on short-distance connections.
Minimal speed losses in relation to your standard internet connection are ideal for buffer-free streaming on your Firestick.
IPVanish’s long-distance speeds weren’t as fast, though. Connecting from the UK into the US, we experienced a 44%.
Speeds were even worse connecting from the UK into Asia (Singapore), with a huge speed drop of 73%.
These slow international speeds are far from ideal if you’re planning on unblocking international streaming applications.
The best VPN for streaming on Firestick, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
ExpressVPN is the best VPN we’ve tested overall, and it’s also a very good VPN for Firestick. It’s easy to set up, works well with Kodi, and it reliably unblocks many popular streaming apps like Netflix and HBO Max.
You can also get ExpressVPN free for 30 days using its no-questions-asked refund policy. However, it misses out on the top spot in this list because its Firestick app lacks some of the features that IPVanish offers.
The home screen of ExpressVPN’s Fire TV app.
| Cheapest Price | $6.67/mo over 15 Months See all plans |
|---|---|
| Data Cap | Unlimited |
| SpeedSpeedBased on 100Mbps local test connection | 93Mbps |
| Logging Policy | No Identifying Data |
| Support | 24/7 Live Chat |
| Servers | 3,000 |
| Compatible with |
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ExpressVPN’s Firestick app reliably unblocks 10 Netflix libraries – working particularly well with the American region.
Unblocking American Netflix using ExpressVPN's Firestick app.
Moreover, most US-based ExpressVPN servers unblock streaming apps like Disney+, HBO Max and Hulu. Users outside the UK can also stream BBC iPlayer on its UK servers, too.
Speeds are consistently high across ExpressVPN’s huge network of 160 VPN server locations and 3,000 servers.
Connecting from Europe to the East Coast of the US, we experienced only 17% speed loss.
Similarly, connecting into Singapore the speed loss was just 20%.
Based on the speed results above, ExpressVPN’s international speeds are undoubtedly much faster than IPVanish’s.
ExpressVPN’s logging policy guarantees the provider won’t keep any record of personal internet activity or connection to its service.
The VPN is also headquartered in the British Virgin Islands – a strong privacy-friendly jurisdiction for a VPN company.
Another privacy bonus is the kill switch, which not all VPNs have on Firestick. The kill switch automatically interrupts internet access if your VPN connection fails, ensuring your real IP address isn’t exposed.
The majority of free VPNs don’t work well on Fire TV devices simply because they don’t have apps for the platform.
While there are plenty of free VPNs, very few have the necessary tools to be easily installed on Amazon’s streaming device.
If your free VPN doesn’t have a native Fire OS app, an .apk file, or is incompatible with routers, it’ll be very hard to use on a Firestick.
We recommend the free VPNs in this guide because they are fast, safe, and come with native Firestick apps or have an .apk file you can side load.
Below is a selection of popular free VPNs we don’t recommend for use on Fire TV devices:
Overall Rating: 4.7/10
What we don’t like: Avira VPN doesn’t have a Firestick app, has no router support, and it limits usage to 1GB per month.
Overall Rating: 5.7/10
What we don’t like: TunnelBear is rather useless for unblocking and streaming purposes. It also lacks a Firestick app and router support, so using it on a Fire TV device is complicated.
Overall Rating: 6.1/10
What we don’t like: Similarly to Avira VPN, Hotspot Shield doesn’t have a native Fire TV Stick app. Moreover, its 500MB daily bandwidth cap severely limits prolonged streaming.
Overall Rating: 1.5/10
What we don’t like: Hola Free VPN logs all your streaming activity, and shares your idle bandwidth with other Hola users. Hola VPN puts your internet privacy at risk, so you must not use it.
We test every Firestick VPN following our bespoke, extensive, and scientific methodology.
Each VPN is tested in six key performance categories. These ratings are then combined to calculate an overall rating.
For free and premium Firestick VPNs specifically, we test for:
Here is a more detailed breakdown of exactly how we test the best VPNs for Firestick:
Minimum Requirement: The VPN works on Amazon Firestick.
We Recommend: A user-friendly native application for Firestick.
Having a native app for Fire OS is an important attribute for a top Firestick VPN. Most free VPN services – and even paid ones – simply do not have this feature.
Some free VPNs that do work on Firestick need to be side-loaded, which is a complicated process for adding third-party apps onto the device. Thankfully, there are a few free VPNs that can be downloaded directly from the Amazon Appstore.
For paid-for VPNs, having a native app is a minimum requirement. Sideloading is just not good enough for a premium product. We reward the apps that are well designed, user-friendly, and custom-built for the TV.
Minimum Requirement: 10GB per month for free VPNs, unlimited for premium VPNs.
We Recommend: Unlimited data with no bandwidth restrictions.
Streaming or running Kodi can be very data-intensive, so a generous data cap is necessary on Firestick.
Less generous free VPNs only offer around 500MB per month, which isn’t enough to stream for more than a few hours.
The best free VPNs offer 10GB a month, or 500MB a day for free. This adds up to enough for light streaming throughout the month or a shorter high-intensity period of streaming.
We only recommend premium Firestick VPNs that come with unlimited data. We also look for services that don’t throttle or limit certain types of traffic, such as P2P.
Minimum Requirement: Works to access YouTube.
We Recommend: Streams Netflix, BBC iPlayer and other streaming services.
We test whether popular streaming services work with VPNs on the Firestick itself.
The absolute minimum requirement for a free option is that a VPN works with YouTube, which almost every VPN is capable of. Top-rated free VPNs are able to stream US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and other services.
The very best VPNs for Fire TV stream multiple Netflix libraries and work with more specialist streaming services, like Crunchyroll.
Minimum Requirement: Average download speeds above 50Mbps.
We Recommend: Average download speeds above 90Mbps.
A fast free VPN for Firestick should offer average download speed of 50Mbps or faster on local connections. This is enough for smooth streaming on most internet connections.
You’re unlikely to be able to stream in 4K on most free VPNs, but HD will be possible on most connections.
For 4K or HD streaming on Firestick we recommend a paid VPN with a local download speed over 90Mbps. In these services, we also check for a fast upload speed of over 75Mbps to ensure P2P and Kodi activity is as smooth as possible.
We regularly test VPNs on a standard 100Mbps connection to offer fair comparisons between services.
Minimum Requirement: IP and DNS leak protection.
We Recommend: IP and DNS leak protection and a VPN kill switch.
Free VPNs often have very few features on Firestick, if they have an app at all.
We test the apps in-depth and explore their feature menus, then compare the offering to what is available on other platforms.
IP leak protection is an absolute minimum, which keeps your true IP and DNS information from being exposed.
The very best premium apps include most of their features from other platforms in the Firestick app, and actively maintain and update it. We look primarily for a kill switch and split tunneling feature.
Minimum Requirement: Supports P2P traffic.
We Recommend: Fully-optimized for P2P and Kodi.
Lots of users combine Kodi with Firestick, so we specifically test Firestick VPN apps for their compatibility with Kodi.
As the bare minimum, you’ll need P2P support to get many Kodi add-ons working. Our tests ensure every VPN we recommend offers support for P2P traffic and Kodi.
In the best case, you’ll have a well-optimized VPN for P2P, with plenty of server choices and a strong privacy policy.
It’s very easy to set up a free VPN on your Fire TV Stick, as long as the VPN service has a Fire OS native application.
You can install all the VPNs we recommend in this guide directly onto your Firestick from the Fire OS app store in just a few steps.
Here’s a short video to show you how easy it is to set up a VPN (in this instance, ExpressVPN) on your Fire TV device:
Video tutorial on how to set up a VPN on your Fire TV Stick.
Below are step-by-step instructions on installing a native VPN application on a Fire TV Stick.
But, what about free VPNs that don’t have a Fire TV Stick app? You can use these VPNs on your Fire TV Stick, but it won’t be as simple.
The best method in these instances is to sideload a VPN’s .APK file onto your Firestick. Proton VPN provides a suitable .APK file.
Here are step-by-step instructions on setting up a VPN using its .APK file and the Downloader application.
The two methods above are by far the simplest to set up a free VPN on your Firestick.
Our Firestick VPN setup guide covers additional methods, such as using your home router or your PC.
Sadly, there are many disadvantages to using free VPNs on a Fire TV device. Especially when it comes to streaming quickly and anonymously.
Most safe-to-use free VPNs are limited by restrictive daily/monthly bandwidth caps, slower speeds, and limited free server selection.
Furthermore, even the best free VPNs often don’t work with Netflix, Disney Plus, and other popular streaming apps.
On the other hand, many paid-for or premium Firestick VPNs offer a superior streaming experience with increased privacy and security.
Key features of premium Fire TV Stick VPNs include:
If you don’t want to commit to a premium Firestick VPN straight away, you can try one first by using a VPN free trial or taking advantage of a money-back guarantee.
We believe using a VPN on your Fire TV Stick is very important for your internet security, privacy, and freedom.
There are two key reasons for using a VPN with your Fire TV device:
Many official video apps are only available in specific countries, or display different video libraries based on your location.
These applications use your IP address to determine your location. By connecting to a VPN server in a different country, you can appear to be in that geographical location.
Therefore, using a good VPN on Fire TV Stick can unblock geo-restricted video content on streaming apps like Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, and BBC iPlayer.
ExpressVPN unblocks Disney+ on our Fire TV Stick with no issues.
Having a VPN running on your Fire TV Stick masks your real IP address, and keeps your internet activity anonymous.
By hiding your true IP address, a VPN prevents your ISP from seeing what applications and services you’re using. This is especially important if you stream video content using Kodi and IPTV apps.
Using a VPN hides your traffic and online activity from your ISP.
If you don’t use a VPN while using Kodi add-ons and IPTV apps, you may inadvertently watch copyrighted content without authorization.
Your ISP will know which applications you’ve used, and pass the information onto content owners and copyright trolls who request it. In turn, they may then issue you with a fine.
EXPERT ADVICE: If you have a 1st generation Firestick, you won’t be able to install a VPN directly onto it. Therefore, we recommend upgrading to a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th generation Fire TV stick.
If you’re using a free VPN on your Fire TV Stick to watch Netflix, you’ve likely come across this error message:
“Oops, something went wrong… You seem to be using an unblocker or proxy.”
Netflix, and other popular streaming platforms, has been blocking VPN users from viewing video content.
Moreover, free VPNs rarely work with Netflix and other video streaming services.
But, there are some things you can try if your VPN isn’t working with Netflix. These techniques include connecting to a different VPN server, or changing VPN protocol.
If all fails, you’ll have to use a Netflix VPN that definitely works.
