The Best VPNs for Hulu

You can quickly compare my top Hulu VPNs side by side in the table below:

Read the methodology I used to rank each VPN.

Whether you’re located inside or outside the United States, you’ll need a US VPN IP address to bypass Hulu’s geo-restrictions.

If you’re abroad, you’ll also need to use a payment method accepted by Hulu.

Watch the video tutorial below and learn how to use a VPN to unblock Hulu from any country:

And here are step-by-step instructions on how to use a VPN with Hulu:

If Hulu has detected and blocked your VPN connection, read my workarounds below.

How to Get Hulu without a US Payment Method

Hulu only accepts US payment cards and methods. If you don’t have one, there are several ways to pay for Hulu from outside the United States.

I’ve outlined the two simplest ways below, both of which worked without issues when I tested them.

1. Use a Hulu Gift Card

The easiest way to pay for Hulu without a US credit card is by purchasing a Hulu gift card from an authorized online retailer, such as MyGiftCardSupply.

Once you’ve bought your gift card, connect to a US VPN server location, then redeem the card on hulu.com/start/gifting.

Hulu’s dedicated gift cards guide offers more information on how to use these cards, as well as promotional codes.

2. Use a US Pre-Paid Card

Alternatively, you can use a virtual pre-paid card service that works with American online services. I recommend StatesCard, which worked smoothly when I tested it.

Be aware that these pre-paid card services charge a small fee to provide you with US payment details and a US zip code.

Hulu strikes legally-binding content licensing deals with studios and networks that require Hulu to keep that content inside the US.

A VPN lets people outside the US access that content, so if Hulu didn’t clamp down, it would be breaching the very agreements that let it show the content in the first place.

Hulu spells this out in its own terms and conditions: “Content may be limited to distribution in certain geographic locations. For that reason, we may use different technologies and methods to verify your geographic location.”

The same logic applies to American live sports and local programming on Hulu + Live TV, which come with regional rights and blackout rules attached.

To enforce these live content agreements, Hulu ties your account to a home location and restricts what you can watch when you travel. This is why a VPN on its own isn’t enough to beat a Live TV blackout, as I explain further down.

Enforcing all these geo-restrictions takes a lot of effort, and Hulu uses several techniques at once to spot a VPN or proxy connection:

Staying ahead of these blocks is a cat-and-mouse game. Unblocking Hulu requires a VPN service to constantly refresh its US IPs, which is why only a handful of them can maintain reliable access.

Hulu doesn’t allow the use of anonymous VPNs or proxies. Many VPNs simply aren’t good enough to bypass Hulu’s VPN blocks anyway.

If Hulu has detected your VPN or proxy connection, then you’ll see one of these two error messages:

• P-EDU101: Hulu isn’t available in your region, or you may be using a VPN.
• Error playing this video. You appear to be using an anonymous proxy tool.

If this happens to you while using a VPN, try the workarounds below to regain access.

1. Change US VPN Server

If Hulu is blocking your VPN, it doesn’t mean all of its US IP addresses have been blacklisted, and some may still work.

You can figure this out by simply switching to a different US server in your VPN’s server list. Depending on how many servers it has, this can be a quick or long process.

This fix only works if your VPN operates hundreds, if not thousands, of servers in the United States. If it still won’t work after you’ve tried more than five US server locations, it’s unlikely any of them will work.

2. Contact Your VPN’s Support Team

If your VPN doesn’t work and you don’t want to test every single one of its US servers, then contact the service’s customer support. Ask whether they know which server or servers work with Hulu.

They may recommend an optimized server, or they may tell you the VPN service isn’t equipped to bypass Hulu’s geo-blocks.

I’d only try this if your VPN offers 24/7 live chat, so you get a quick response. When I contacted ExpressVPN’s live support team, for example, they told me their New York and Los Angeles servers worked with Hulu.

3. Clear Your Cache & Cookies

Clearing your browser cookies and cache removes potential geo-location traces.

Cookies are web identifiers that websites use to track your internet movements. Deleting them can help you evade Hulu’s geo-location techniques.

If you’re streaming through the Hulu app rather than a browser, clear the app’s cached data instead.

On Android, go to Settings > Apps > Hulu > Storage and clear the cache. On iOS, offload or reinstall the app.

4. Flush Your DNS Cache

Even after you connect to a US server, your device can retain old DNS records that still point to your real location, which is enough for Hulu to flag you.

Flushing your local DNS cache clears those stale records. Here’s how to do it:

• On Windows: open Command Prompt and run ipconfig /flushdns.
• On macOS: run sudo dscacheutil -flushcache; sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder in Terminal (the exact command varies by macOS version).
• On Android and iOS, the quickest fix is to toggle airplane mode off and on, or restart the device.

Reconnect your VPN afterward, then reload Hulu.

5. Check for IP and DNS Leaks

Hulu could be detecting your VPN because the software is leaking your real IP address.

Or the VPN could be experiencing a DNS leak. This happens when DNS requests (website visit requests) fall outside of the VPN connection, revealing your true location.

Check your VPN is working properly by running an IP and DNS leak test while your VPN is turned on.

Free or low-quality VPNs are far more likely to suffer from IP and DNS leaks than more reputable VPNs, which come with built-in leak protection.

Many VPNs also aren’t compatible with IPv6 traffic, and this can lead to IP address leaks.

If you have an IPv6 internet connection, and your VPN doesn’t support IPv6 traffic, your connection request will revert back to your ISP. In other words, the connection will travel outside of the VPN tunnel, exposing your real IP location to Hulu.

If you suspect your VPN is leaking IPv6 traffic, choose another VPN that provides IPv6 leak protection, like ExpressVPN.

6. Try a Dedicated IP

Hulu often blocks VPN servers because hundreds of people are connecting using the same IP address, which is a dead giveaway.

A dedicated VPN IP is one only you use, so it behaves much more like an ordinary home connection and is far less likely to be flagged.

Several of my picks, including ExpressVPN and NordVPN, offer dedicated US IP addresses as an optional extra.

7. Get a VPN That Works with Hulu

Finally, if all of the above workarounds fail, then you have no choice but to change VPN service.

I’d suggest switching to a VPN that unblocks Hulu consistently and has a proven track record against some of the toughest streaming geo-restrictions.

Every VPN I recommend for Hulu has been tested extensively before making the list, so it won’t let you down.

Hulu’s VPN detection methods are as sophisticated as those used by Netflix. Even some of the most popular VPNs struggle to beat its geo-restrictions.

Of the 59 VPNs I tested, only a handful bypassed Hulu’s geo-blocks. The popular VPNs listed below didn’t:

• Avast VPN
• AVG VPN
• Avira VPN
• Betternet
• Hola Free VPN
• Mullvad
• Norton VPN
• PureVPN
• TunnelBear
• VyprVPN

If you want to know whether a specific VPN unblocks Hulu, email me at simon@top10vpn.com, and I’ll confirm whether it works.