The Best VPNs for Italy

Once you’re in Italy, you’re restricted to local content. As a result, you may find a specific show you were streaming on Netflix is now missing, or you lose access to your home streaming apps entirely (e.g. ITVX).

Since Brexit, EU Portability Regulation no longer covers UK-EEA travel, so ITVX, Sky Go, Channel 4, and BBC iPlayer are blocked for British tourists in Italy.

If you’re from the US, you have no portability rights within the EU whatsoever. All of your favorite platforms, such as Hulu, Peacock, and ESPN+, are blocked in Italy despite you continuing to pay for them.

Even travelers from other EU countries only get partial cover. Portability is mandatory for paid subscriptions on temporary visits, but free-to-air broadcasters like ARD, ZDF, and France TV aren’t required to offer it, and most don’t.

By connecting to a VPN, you can change your online location and bypass geo-restrictions on streaming services.

You can also do the reverse: a VPN lets you get an Italian IP address, when you’re outside of Italy. By doing so, you can unblock geo-restrictions on Italian streaming services and broadcasters such as RaiPlay, DAZN Italia, Mediaset Infinity, and Netflix Italy.

While in Italy, you might want to connect to free WiFi in a hotel, airport, or busy tourist hub.

Almost all of its publicly-accessible WiFi networks require no authentication beyond an email address or phone number, lack encryption, and share your personal data with third parties.

Without encryption, it is far easier to intercept and monitor your traffic. This means the network owner, and anyone within range, can see the websites you visit and the passwords you enter.

Other risks include fake hotspots impersonating known WiFi networks like WiFi Italia and WiFimetropolitano to trick you into connecting and handing over your data.

It isn’t a defense against everything, but using a VPN on public WiFi masks your IP address and encrypts your traffic, which keeps your browsing activity hidden on networks you have no reason to trust.

This is the reason I keep auto-connect switched on in Italy, and why it’s one of the features I look for in my reviews below.

AGCOM, Italy’s telecom and media regulator, launched the Piracy Shield system in 2024 to crack down on illegal sports streaming.

Since launch, as repeatedly blocked IP addresses belonging to entirely legitimate services.

A report from Piracy Monitor found that over 500 websites were blocked, despite having no relation to streaming.

As such, you may find websites unexpectedly blocked while in Italy, especially during Serie A matches where the system is most active.

Thankfully, you can use a VPN to connect to a server outside of Italy and avoid these blocks entirely. Any of my recommendations will work, though Proton VPN is the one I’d choose, since its servers in 148 countries give you the most options.

PIA used to be one of my recommended VPNs for Italy, but it has since removed its Rome server location, leaving you with just Milan.

It’s also not up to standard for streaming: you can’t unblock RaiPlay, Sky Italia, Mediaset Infinity, or the UK versions of Sky Go and Disney+.

Make no mistake, it’s a great VPN overall, but it’s no longer a contender for Italy.

CyberGhost is another excellent VPN that very narrowly misses out.

Despite providing streaming-optimized servers for Italy, it failed to unblock Netflix Italy, Canale 5, DAZN Italy, and TIMvision.

More generally, its apps are starting to feel dated and stagnant due to the lack of new features.

Mullvad is an independent VPN that specializes in anonymity, but it doesn’t do enough to make my shortlist.

It only supports 7 IP addresses in Italy (versus Proton VPN’s 104), and it has never unblocked Netflix Italy, DAZN Italy, RaiPlay, or Sky Italia in my testing.

Plus, it’s just as weak for international streaming services, as it can’t unblock US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, or much else.

• Test Conducted: Inspected the server list of each VPN, taking into consideration total server count, coverage, and city-level choice. I also connected to a random assortment of servers to confirm I was given the correct IP address.
• Why It’s Important: A large and widespread server network means you’re likely to find a server near you. It also enables you to access a greater variety of geo-restricted content from around the world.
• Optimal Result: I expect the best VPNs to provide servers in 100+ countries, with coverage across all major regions, not just the Northern Hemisphere.

• Test Conducted: Evaluated the number of Italian IP addresses (endpoints) and Italian server locations. I also used our custom-built IP lookup tool to test location accuracy.
• Why It’s Important: Without Italian servers you can’t access blocked Italian websites and stream your favorite shows from platforms like RaiPlay and Mediaset Infinity. Varied server locations also means you can maximize your download speed and bypass more localized blocks.
• Optimal Result:

A VPN with hundreds of Italian servers spread across the north, center, and south of the country.

• Test Conducted: Carried out speed tests while connected to servers in different countries for each VPN. I repeated this multiple times and then aggregated my results to determine an average.
• Why It’s Important: Speed dictates much of your VPN’s performance, including page loading times, video quality while streaming or video calling, and browsing speeds.
• Optimal Result:

I expect no more than a 10% download loss when connected to nearby VPN servers, and no more than 20% for distant connections.

• Test Conducted: Attempted to access popular streaming services from multiple countries, while connected to each VPN. This included US Netflix, RaiPlay, BBC iPlayer, DAZN Italy, and many others.
• Why It’s Important: To ensure the VPN properly bypasses geo-restrictions and lets you stream content from anywhere.
• Optimal Result: Consistent access to popular Netflix regions (e.g. US, UK, and Canada), major free-to-air broadcasters (e.g. BBC iPlayer and ARD), and premium subscription services (e.g. Hulu and Paramount+).

• Test Conducted: Analyzed each VPN’s privacy policy, legal jurisdiction, corporate history, and any evidence that substantiates its logging claims, including audits and court cases.
• Why It’s Important: Given Italy’s strict data retention laws, it’s vital to use a VPN that won’t log or share your data.
• Optimal Result: A privacy policy that explicitly states the VPN provider won’t log your IP address, browsing activity, connection timestamps, or any other personally identifying data. Plus, real-world verification of these claims through a server seizure or court case.

• Test Conducted: Used a mix of in-house and third-party tools to test the encryption and kill switch of each VPN. I also checked for any additional security features like IPv6 leak blocking and post-quantum encryption.
• Why It’s Important: Robust encryption protects your connection from third-party attacks and monitoring. It’s especially vital when accessing unsafe public WiFi networks in Italy.
• Optimal Result: Either ChaCha20 (WireGuard) or AES-256 (OpenVPN) encryption, along with open-sourced VPN apps and post-quantum cryptography.