How to Watch Hulu with a VPN & Fix It Not Working

ExpressVPN has servers spread across 18 US cities, providing IP addresses from a range of states.

This was particularly useful for changing our location on Hulu Live TV to access local channels and bypass sports blackouts, like out-of-network NFL games.

Some VPNs, like CyberGhost, offer dedicated servers for unblocking Hulu. ExpressVPN doesn’t need them — all its US servers consistently unblocked Hulu in our tests.

ExpressVPN’s success at getting around Hulu blocks is because it regularly updates its IP addresses to avoid detection. This takes time and investment from ExpressVPN, something that many other VPNs aren’t prepared to do.

Connecting to the US from anywhere in the world, you can expect average speed loss of only 15%, which explains the fast buffering and maximum resolution we experienced watching Hulu from overseas.

Using ExpressVPN, you can watch Hulu from anywhere, on any device. ExpressVPN has dedicated apps available for every major device, including streaming devices like Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, and Android TV.

Testing the ExpressVPN Fire TV Stick app.

We genuinely enjoyed using all of these apps because they’re easy to install and to navigate. Most importantly, of course, they all work with Hulu.

ExpressVPN is also the only VPN that offers an app for routers. This can be used to give all of your home devices a US location, making it possible to watch Hulu without having to make individual VPN connections.

You can also use ExpressVPN’s Smart DNS feature, MediaStreamer, for this.

ExpressVPN’s apps have built-in DNS and IPv6 leak protection that prevents accidental exposures of your real IP address too. This also makes it much harder for Hulu to detect your VPN.

ExpressVPN’s main drawback is the price. At $4.99 per month, its almost double the cost of NordVPN, our second choice for Hulu, and more than triple that of our third choice, CyberGhost.

However, we believe it represents great value because of its consistency and range of device compatibility – empowering you to stream Hulu however you please without issues.

You can also test it before committing to a subscription by signing up for ExpressVPN’s 7-day free trial or taking advantage of it’s 30-day money-back guarantee offer.

NordVPN has 1,767 servers spread across 16 US server locations.

We found that no single server location was best for Hulu, and that most US servers worked to unblock the service.

Having so many US servers means there’s little risk of congestion, making the connections less likely to be detected by Hulu.

It also benefits the VPN’s speed; NordVPN has an average international download of 86Mbps, which is marginally faster than ExpressVPN.

This is evident in the excellent streaming quality when watching Hulu with NordVPN. Videos loaded quickly, without buffering and no abrupt connection interruptions.

NordVPN has user-friendly apps for desktop (macOS and Windows) and mobile (iOS and Android), meaning you can stream Hulu on-the-go.

It also has custom apps for streaming devices, including Fire TV Stick, Android TV, and Apple TV. No matter which device you have, you can use NordVPN to watch Hulu without issues.

You can use NordVPN on a Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, and more.

All of these apps and features are simple to use, but we have small gripes, like having to type in “United States” to find US servers, rather than simply “US” or “America”.

Or the fact that the desktop applications are unnecessarily big and can’t be reduced in size.

NordVPN is also compatible with routers, but ExpressVPN is better for this since NordVPN doesn’t have a dedicated app and therefore requires manual setup.

We were also unimpressed by NordVPN’s Smart DNS solution, which surprisingly failed to unblock Hulu.

On the plus side, IP and DNS leak protection are enabled by default, which combined with NordVPN’s effective kill switch, prevent Hulu from seeing your real IP location while the VPN is running.

NordVPN only costs $2.99/mo over 27 months. If you want a top-notch VPN without paying ExpressVPN’s premium price, then you should absolutely consider getting NordVPN.

However, while cheaper than ExpressVPN initially, NordVPN renews at a higher price once your first plan expires, costing similarly to ExpressVPN.

CyberGhost has servers that are designed to unblock Hulu, available on desktop apps, Android TV, and Fire TV Stick.

CyberGhost’s Fire TV Stick app.

Our tests found that they frequently work well, but not 100% of the time. Compare this with ExpressVPN and NordVPN, whose standard US servers work far more reliably. CyberGhost’s regular US servers are almost always detected by Hulu.

CyberGhost won’t easily work on Apple TV as it hasn’t built an app for the platform yet. However, you can use its Smart DNS, which will allow you to stream Hulu on any device without using the VPN connection.

CyberGhost maintains US servers in 12 cities. This may be a lot but they not particularly useful for Hulu as it only works on CyberGhost’s dedicated Hulu server.

Funneling everyone who want to stream Hulu to a single dedicated server has the downside of congestion.

This can unfortunately lead to overuse of the IP range and suspicious activity that may encourage Hulu to block the server. This helps to explain some of CyberGhost’s unreliability with Hulu.

CyberGhost’s speeds are also slower than both ExpressVPN and NordVPN, coming in at an average international download of 81Mbps. This is still more than fast enough for Full HD streaming without lag, but if you want superior network speeds, you should consider another VPN.

Despite some inconsistency, CyberGhost only costs $2.03/mo over 28 months. It’s considerably cheaper than ExpressVPN and NordVPN, which is why it’s our budget pick for Hulu.

That said, CyberGhost comes at the cost of slightly less reliable access to Hulu, slower speeds, and no Apple TV application. These may be non-negotiable factors for some users.

Windscribe Free is completely free to install and use, with no hidden catches. It doesn’t even require you to provide credit card or payment details.

It’s one of our favorite free VPNs, because it’s safe and very good at unblocking streaming services like Hulu, Max, and Peacock outside the US.

We’ve been testing it for years and have never encountered issues with Hulu detection.

Windscribe offers the best free app for Fire TV Stick, providing a seamless experience for accessing the Hulu app from anywhere.

Windscribe’s Firestick app is easy to use.

Additionally, Windscribe has apps for Android TV and Apple TV, though the login process can be a bit cumbersome.

Alongside this are well-made apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, so you can stream Hulu on your desktop, laptop, touch-screen device, or mobile.

Windscribe doesn’t impose a device limit even for its free version, so you can install the VPN on as many devices you wish to watch Hulu on.

However, the main downside is Windscribe’s 10GB data cap, which can be quite limiting. This restriction meant we were only able to stream about 4 hours of Hulu content per month. The only way to get around this is to pay for the premium version.

Windscribe Free is also slower than both the paid version and its main competitor, PrivadoVPN Free.

During our tests, long-distance speeds dropped by an average of 13%. In comparison, speeds on PrivadoVPN’s servers only decreased by 8%.

As a result, you may encounter buffering and connection issues while streaming Hulu.