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The Best VPNs for YouTube TV

Updated May 18, 2026

Simon Migliano

Simon Migliano is a recognized world expert in VPNs. He's tested hundreds of apps and his research has been featured on the BBC, The New York Times, and more. Read full bio

Fact-checked by JP Jones

The Short Answer

The best VPN to spoof your YouTube TV location is ExpressVPN. Its user-friendly apps and ultra-fast servers, covering more US cities than any other VPN, allowed us to quickly access region-locked live streams on YouTube TV. Private Internet Access is a cheaper yet effective alternative while Windscribe gives you 10GB of free bandwidth each month.

The best VPNs for YouTube TV.

YouTube TV shows live and on-demand content from over 100 US television networks, in addition to premium add-on packages like Sports Plus and Spanish Plus.

The availability of local channels, including Regional Sports Networks, changes depending on the state you’re in: this is referred to as your Home Area in your YouTube TV settings.

To change your YouTube TV location (your Playback Area) and access live streams from other US states, you’ll need a VPN that spoofs your IP address AND your geolocation.

Summary: The Best VPNs for YouTube TV

Out of 60 VPNs we tested, these three are the most effective VPNs at changing your YouTube TV Playback Area:

ExpressVPN: Best VPN for YouTube TV Overall
Private Internet Access (PIA): Cheap VPN for YouTube TV
Windscribe: 100% Free VPN for YouTube TV

➡️ Jump to our side-by-side comparison.

Why Trust Top10VPN?

We’re fully independent and have been reviewing VPNs since 2016. Our ratings are based on our own testing results and are unaffected by financial incentives. Learn who we are and VPN testing methodology.

VPNs Tested	60
Total Hours of Testing	30,000+
Combined Years of Experience	50+

Using the right VPN, you’ll be able to watch out-of-market NFL games and bypass other sports blackouts on local CBS or Fox broadcasts.

🔄 Recent Updates

We’ve added important new information on how to change your YouTube TV location with a VPN.

The Best YouTube TV VPNs Reviewed

Use the table below to quickly compare our recommended VPNs based on streaming speed, US location coverage, and price.

Read our VPN testing methodology to see each VPN’s performance test ratings.

1. ExpressVPN: Best VPN for YouTube TV

Ranked #1 out of 60 VPNs for YouTube TV

ExpressVPN's app for iPhone.

ExpressVPN

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Overall YouTube TV Rating: 9.9/10

Unblocks YouTube TV
9.9/10
US Servers
9.9/10
Speed
9.7/10
Device Compatibility
9.9/10

To learn more, read our VPN testing methodology.

Unblocks YouTube TV on every US server
Excellent internet speeds across its US server network
Covers more US cities than any other VPN
Immaculate apps for all popular platforms & devices
Built-in HTML5 location spoofer in browser extensions
7-day free trial available via iOS & Android

More expensive than PIA VPN
Android app lacks GPS spoofing setting

Pricing Plans	$12.99/mo $4.99/mo over 15 months $2.79/mo over 28 months
US States	50
US Cities	56
Simultaneous Connections	10

Support	24/7 Live Chat
Compatible with	Windows Mac iOS Android Linux Amazon Fire TV Android TV Apple TV Router Chrome

Let’s be very clear about this: ExpressVPN has no rivals that can come close to it when it comes to accessing region-restricted content on YouTube TV.

Its 6,050 US servers connected almost instantly to evade YouTube TV’s proxy detection system, change our Playback Area and unblock broadcasts we couldn’t previously access.

ExpressVPN is also the most versatile VPN on the market, with a wide range of well-designed apps that makes it so much easier to watch YouTube TV on a variety of devices.

ExpressVPN with YouTube TV

ExpressVPN changed our Playback Area without issue.

Unblocks Region-restricted Broadcasts Across the US

ExpressVPN is incredibly effective at bypassing YouTube TV’s geo-restrictions, especially on PC and Mac.

Using ExpressVPN’s browser extension to change our IP address to one of its 56 US cities and spoof our location was a piece of cake.

Toggling on ExpressVPN's 'Spoof your location' setting in its Chrome extension

ExpressVPN’s browser extension conceals your HTML5 location.

YouTube TV uses HTML5 geolocation tracking to determine your physical location. When enabled, ExpressVPN’s Spoof your location function provides a false location that matches the VPN server location you’re connected to.

We tested this across a dozen US VPN locations and it worked every single time. We streamed region-restricted content without any issue, including NBA, NHL, and MLB blackout games.

At every attempt, over hundreds of tests, YouTube TV never blocked our ExpressVPN connection.

You can see how easy it was to use ExpressVPN to change our YouTube TV location in our dedicated section further below.

Exceptional Streaming Speeds on Every US Server

It’s amazing how fast and consistent ExpressVPN’s speeds have been since we started testing the VPN many years ago.

Not only do its servers always connect instantly, but the impact on our internet speed continues to be among the lowest we’ve seen.

For instance, connecting to Los Angeles from New York, our internet speed slowed down by only 10%, while connecting to even closer locations, like Washington DC, the impact was a mere 2%.

Even during hours of peak traffic, our VPN speeds remained very stable with our video stream sharpness unaffected. This is partly due to the thousands of servers ExpressVPN has rolled out across the United States.

ExpressVPN is our favorite VPN for streaming for many reasons, and streaming speed is definitely one of the key ones.

Intuitive & Eye-pleasing Apps for All Devices

ExpressVPN’s arsenal of user-friendly apps for every conceivable device is simply unmatched.

You’ll find a consistent design across its dedicated apps for computers, smartphones, streaming devices, and even routers.

The VPN router app is unique in the industry, and it conveniently allows you to connect all of your home devices to ExpressVPN, including Roku Sticks and game consoles that don’t support VPN software.

Connecting to a server location takes only a few seconds on any of these apps: launch the software, go to the server list, find your desired location, and select it. That’s really it!

ExpressVPN's server list on Android

ExpressVPN’s server list on Android.

The only downside to ExpressVPN is that it’s more expensive than Private Internet Access, costing $2.79/mo over 28 months.

While we think the VPN’s exceptional streaming performance warrants this higher price, Private Internet Access will cost you less.

2. PIA: Cheap VPN for YouTube TV

PIA VPN's iOS Application

Private Internet Access

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Overall YouTube TV Rating: 9.5/10

Unblocks YouTube TV
9.3/10
US Servers
9.7/10
Speed
9.7/10
Device Compatibility
9.5/10

To learn more, read our VPN testing methodology.

More affordable than ExpressVPN on longer plans
VPN locations in all 50 states
Easily changes YouTube TV location on desktop & Android
Extremely fast connections across short distances
7-day free trial on mobile

Not all US servers worked with YouTube TV
Not as beginner-friendly as ExpressVPN
Slower than ExpressVPN on longer distances
Smart DNS proxy is highly unreliable

Pricing Plans	$11.99/mo $7.50/mo over 6 months $1.75/mo over 26 months
US States	50
US Cities	50
Simultaneous Connections	Unlimited

Support	24/7 Live Chat
Compatible with	Windows Mac iOS Android Linux Amazon Fire TV Android TV Apple TV Router Chrome

Private Internet Access (PIA) is a cheaper alternative to ExpressVPN that works well to beat YouTube TV’s location restrictions.

Just like ExpressVPN, PIA’s US server network covers every state, although there are fewer individual cities available and not every server location unblocked YouTube TV.

Using PIA VPN with YouTube TV

We watched regional content on YouTube TV using PIA.

Great Server Coverage in the US

The fact that PIA has servers in all 50 US states is extremely useful to bypass the Home Area and Playback Area restrictions.

PIA VPN's US servers in the Android app

PIA VPN’s US servers in the Android app.

PIA currently offers access to 50 different city locations, although not every server location worked with YouTube TV.

This is the key difference between PIA and ExpressVPN, and the main reason why PIA ranks in second place in our standings.

Similar Speeds to ExpressVPN but Cheaper

PIA’s internet speeds, especially within the US, are comparable to ExpressVPN’s and you won’t notice much difference in terms of video quality.

When we connected to different locations across the US, both near and far away, the VPN delivered excellent results on a variety of devices.

Connecting to nearby states, our internet speed slowed down by only 4%, and only 10% connecting from one coast to another.

Good Device Compatibility but Faulty Smart DNS

PIA has developed eye-pleasing and intuitive applications for all mainstream devices such as computers, smartphones and even streaming devices like Fire Stick and Apple TV.

There are also no device limits so you can run the VPN on as many devices as you want at the same time.

That being said, PIA can’t match ExpressVPN’s device compatibility: its Smart DNS proxy is faulty and it hasn’t developed its own router.

These shortcomings make PIA harder to use on game consoles and Roku devices.

PIA’s main draw is really its low subscription price: at just $1.75/mo over 26 months, it appeals to frugal people willing to accept some of the service’s limitations.

3. Windscribe: 100% Free VPN for YouTube TV

Windscribe's free app for iOS.

Windscribe

Add to compare

Overall YouTube TV Rating: 6.8/10

Unblocks YouTube TV
9.0/10
US Servers
7.7/10
Speed
8.8/10
Device Compatibility
7.5/10

To learn more, read our VPN testing methodology.

Completely free to use without payment details needed
Every free US server location unblocks YouTube TV
Good speeds across short & long distances
HTML5 & GPS spoofing settings

10GB monthly bandwidth cap
Fluctuating speeds affect streaming quality
No human live chat support
No Smart DNS solution

Data Cap	10GB per month
US States	7
US Cities	8
Simultaneous Connections	Unlimited

Support	Email & Online Resources Only
Compatible with	Windows Mac iOS Android Linux Amazon Fire TV Android TV Apple TV Router Chrome

It was very clear from our tests that Windscribe is the best free VPN for YouTube TV. Its US servers located in eight cities easily got around the platform’s Playback Area restrictions.

The big downside is its 10GB monthly data cap which will prevent you from streaming live content and shows indefinitely.

Windscribe's free VPN worked with YouTube TV

Windscribe’s free US servers unblocked YouTube TV.

Fast Free Servers in Eight US Cities

Windscribe covers more free US server locations than any other free VPN. This allowed us to change our Playback Area to access local channels in cities like Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York.

All free US servers quickly bypassed YouTube TV geo-blocks, which is extremely rare among secure free VPNs. Not even close competitors like PrivadoVPN could achieve this.

It has to be said that speeds on these servers did fluctuate every so often, which affected the sharpness of the video stream at times.

Free GPS & HTML5 Location Spoofing

Windscribe offers free apps for all mainstream devices, including streaming devices like Fire TV Stick, Android TV, and Apple TV.

Uniquely, the VPN’s free Android app and browser extensions come with location-spoofing settings that worked extremely well with YouTube TV.

Once activated, the ‘GPS Spoofing’ (in the Android app) and ‘Location Warp’ (in the browser extension) settings matched our GPS data to the VPN server location we were connected to, allowing us to update our YouTube TV location.

No other free VPN offers this level of location spoofing, which is why Windscribe is head and shoulders above them for unblocking YouTube TV.

And thanks to the service’s unlimited device policy, you can stream YouTube TV on as many devices as you want, although YouTube TV restricts viewing to only three devices at once.

How to Change YouTube TV Location with a VPN

YouTube TV uses two separate location signals to decide what you can watch:

Home Area: set by the ZIP code you enter at sign-up. It determines which local channels and regional sports networks you can access. YouTube TV limits how often you can update it.
Current Playback Area: re-checked every time you stream, based on your IP address and, on mobile and smart TVs, your device’s location services. This is what stops you from watching out-of-market games or local broadcasts when you travel.

To trick YouTube TV and access channels from other parts of the US, you’ll need to change your current Playback Area (and not your Home Area). There’s no cap on how often you can update it.

Watch the video below to see how we easily changed our Playback Area using ExpressVPN’s browser extension:

How to Change YouTube TV Region with a VPN video thumbnail

The exact steps depend on the device you’re streaming on, because YouTube TV checks location differently on each one:

How YouTube TV detects your location on each device, and what you need to change it.
Device	Location Method YouTube TV Uses	What You Need	Difficulty
PC & Mac (browser)	IP address + HTML5 geolocation	VPN with a browser extension that spoofs HTML5 location	Easy
Android phone or tablet	IP address + GPS	VPN with built-in GPS spoofing, or a separate mock-location app	Moderate
iPhone or iPad	IP address + GPS	Safari workaround, or update Playback Area on a Mac or PC first	Difficult
Apple TV, Android TV & Fire TV	IP address + device location data	Native VPN app, plus Playback Area updated on another device	Moderate
Roku, Chromecast & older Smart TVs	IP address + device location data	Router-level VPN, travel router, or screen mirroring from a laptop	Difficult

Follow the instructions for your device below.

PC & Mac

The easiest way to change your YouTube TV Playback Area is through the website and using a VPN browser extension.

How to Change Your YouTube TV Location on PC & Mac

Get a VPN with HTML5 location spoofing. The extension needs to override your browser’s location data, not just your IP. ExpressVPN is the most reliable option.
Add the VPN browser extension to your Chrome, Firefox, or Edge and sign in.
Activate the location-spoofing setting. In ExpressVPN, it’s called Spoof your location; in other extensions it may be labeled something similar.
Connect to a VPN server in the city you want to appear in: For example, to access KNBC, connect to Los Angeles.
Change your Playback Area. Go to your YouTube TV settings, select ‘Area’ and click ‘UPDATE’ next to ‘Current playback area.’
Start streaming. Local channels and out-of-market broadcasts for the new region should now load.

If the stream doesn’t load, or you see a VPN/Proxy detected error message, jump to our troubleshooting fixes.

Using ExpressVPN's geo-location spoofer to change location on YouTube TV

ExpressVPN’s browser extension spoofed our geo-location on YouTube TV.

Android Devices

The YouTube TV Android app reads your GPS location, not just your IP. You therefore need to spoof your GPS coordinates as well.

You have two options:

Use a VPN with built-in GPS spoofing: Windscribe’s Location Warp worked best in our tests.
Use a separate mock-location app alongside your VPN: This requires enabling Developer Options on your device and is more finicky.

Windscribe is a very good Android VPN that worked well with YouTube TV, and therefore is our preferred choice.

How to Change Your YouTube TV Location on Android

Install a VPN with GPS spoofing. Windscribe is our top choice for YouTube TV.
Connect to a VPN in your chosen US city.
Enable the GPS-spoofing setting. Windscribe’s setting is under ‘Privacy’ > ‘Location Warp.’
Change your Playback Area. Open the YouTube TV Android app, select ‘Area’ and tap ‘UPDATE’ next to ‘Current playback area.’
Verify the change. YouTube TV may ask you to confirm the change on https://tv.youtube.com/verify.
Start streaming. Your local content should now correspond to your new Playback Area.

iPhone & iPad

iOS is the hardest platform to change your YouTube TV location on, and here’s why: the YouTube TV app on iPhone and iPad requires Location Services to be enabled in order to read your device’s GPS directly.

If you turn Location Services off for YouTube TV, or for your device entirely, the app blocks playback and prompts you to re-enable them.

Additionally, iOS doesn’t allow third-party applications to change your device’s GPS location.

Since we strongly discourage you from “jailbreaking” your device, there simply isn’t a way to use a VPN to change your Playback Area on YouTube TV’s iOS app.

Apple TV, Android TV & Fire TV

Changing your Playback Area on Apple TV, Android TV and Fire TV is more complicated since these devices use a mixture of location and device data to determine where you are.

By far the easiest solution is to use an HDMI cable from your laptop into your TV, but maybe that’s too “old school” for you (although we love its simplicity!).

If that’s not for you, then follow the instructions below.

How to Change Your YouTube TV Location on Your TV

Our recommended VPNs all have apps for Apple TV, Android TV and Firestick, which makes unblocking YouTube content easier than on devices that don’t support VPN software at all.

Download and install your chosen VPN onto your PC, Mac or Android device. Make sure your location-spoofing setting is activated.
Download and install your chosen VPN onto your Smart TV or streaming device.
Connect to the same US server location on both VPN apps.
Log into YouTube TV on your computer or Android device.
Modify your current Playback Area. In the ‘Area’ setting, select ‘UPDATE’ next to ‘Current playback area.’
Verify the location change. YouTube TV may ask you to confirm the change on https://tv.youtube.com/verify.
Open and sign into YouTube TV on your TV or streaming device. You should see your updated Playback Area, and content from that location.

Roku

Roku devices don’t support VPN applications, therefore you’ll need to set your VPN up on your router in order to use it with YouTube TV.

That means there’s no way to change your YouTube TV location while using the YouTube TV app itself.

This isn’t a straightforward process, with most VPNs not offering a dedicated VPN router. The only one that does is ExpressVPN, which we recommend using in combination with your computer.

How to Change Your YouTube TV Location on Roku

Set up a VPN on your router or buy ExpressVPN’s Aircove.
Once set up, connect to a US server location of your choice.
On a PC, Mac, or Android device, update your YouTube TV Playback Area.
Open YouTube TV on your Roku. It should now display the local channels from the new playback region.

Our guide on how to use a VPN with Roku has additional information to help you.

How to Fix Your VPN Not Working with YouTube TV

The most likely reason your VPN is not working with YouTube TV is because its US IP addresses have been blacklisted by the service.

The reality is that only a handful of VPNs successfully bypass YouTube TV’s geo-restrictions, with many doing so only intermittently.

If your VPN isn’t working with YouTube TV, and you believe it should, then try the solutions below to fix the problem.

1. Use a Different VPN

The most common reason why a VPN is not working with YouTube TV is because many VPNs lack the necessary resources to bypass YouTube TV geo-restrictions. Their US IP addresses have been blocked by YouTube TV, and the VPN service hasn’t refreshed them.

You’ll know your VPN doesn’t work when you get this VPN/proxy error message:

YouTube TV VPN Proxy Detected Error Message

Most VPNs for YouTube TV are detected and do not bypass geo-restrictions.

Our regular tests continue to show that ExpressVPN is the most consistent at bypassing YouTube TV VPN blocks.

If you want a free option, despite the limitations we’ve already covered earlier in the guide, Windscribe offers access to free US VPN servers that currently work with YouTube TV.

2. Connect to a Different US VPN Location

Sometimes all you need to do to get your YouTube TV VPN working is to change the US server you’re connected to.

It could be that IP addresses associated with one server have been identified and banned by YouTube TV, but other server IP addresses remain unknown.

For instance, using Private Internet Access we found that its West Coast server didn’t work with YouTube TV but its East Coast server did.

Below is a list of servers that worked with YouTube TV in our latest tests:

VPN Service	Server
CyberGhost	YouTube TV dedicated server
Surfshark	LA Server
Private Internet Access	East Coast server
Windscribe	New York server
Hide.me	US Streaming dedicated server

However, we don’t recommend trying every available server in search of one that works. If the first few server changes don’t work, it’s likely that none will.

3. Clear Your Browser Cookies & Cache

Websites collect data about your location through cookies and other files in your browser’s cache. Your YouTube TV VPN might not be working because this information is being used to mark your real location, especially if you’re changing Home Area location.

YouTube TV Clear Cache

This is easily fixed by deleting cookies and cache data in your browser.

4. Check for IP Address or DNS Leaks

It’s possible that your real location is being detected by YouTube TV as a result of a data leak. This happens when your DNS requests or real IP address falls outside the encrypted VPN connection.

This usually happens when using free or inferior VPNs. Quality VPNs have leak protection built into their service, or at the least an option to enable leak protection.

You can easily check if your VPN is working by using our IP & DNS leak test tool.

If your VPN is leaking data, you should contact customer support to see if they can resolve the issue. Otherwise, we suggest upgrading your VPN.

How We Test VPNs for YouTube TV

We calculate the overall rating of a YouTube TV VPN based on its performance in four key testing categories.

Pie chart showing the breakdown of our YouTube TV VPN rating system

Here’s how our chosen VPNs performed in these specific tests:

VPNs with a data cap receive a reduction to their overall rating.

For a more detailed breakdown of these results and how they’re calculated, see our explanation below:

1. Unblocks YouTube TV (50%)

The most important factor is to find a VPN that bypasses YouTube TV’s geo-restrictions consistently.

That means most of its US servers will work first time, and will stream at maximum resolution.

2. US Servers (20%)

Running a high-quality network of US servers is important for three reasons.

Firstly, more servers means a greater spread of users and therefore less traffic congestion. This leads to better performance and faster speeds.

Secondly, having more server choices gives you a better chance of finding one that works with YouTube TV.

Finally, the more US VPN server locations available, the more regional content will be accessible to you.

3. Speed (20%)

VPN speed is a crucial testing criterion for YouTube TV because it determines how quickly you’ll be able to stream YouTube TV content, and at what quality.

YouTube TV is only available in the US, and connecting into the US from far away countries can heavily impact your internet speed.

The fastest VPNs can connect into the US from anywhere in the world and only experience marginal speed loss.

We use consistent test equipment and our own servers to accurately assess each VPN’s average download speed from around the globe.

4. Device Compatibility (10%)

Compatibility with a wide range of devices is key to a VPN’s ability to bypass geo-restrictions in various scenarios.

We expect any VPN to offer user-friendly apps for desktop, mobile, Android TV, Fire TV Stick and Apple TV. Additionally, we favor VPNs that include a Smart DNS proxy and browser extensions as part of their service.

Being able to install a VPN on a router is also very important, as it allows you to use a VPN on devices that don’t support VPN software.

The gold standard is a VPN service with its own router, and a dedicated router app, but only ExpressVPN currently offers this.

Data Cap Penalty

We apply a penalty to the VPN’s final overall rating for YouTube TV based on its data cap:

Unlimited bandwidth: No deduction to the overall rating
10GB per month: -20% to the overall rating
500MB per day: -25% to the overall rating
5GB per month: -30% to the overall rating
1GB or 2GB per month: -35% to the overall rating
200MB per day: -40% to the overall rating
500MB per month: -50% to the overall rating

FAQs

Why Does YouTube TV Have Location Restrictions?

YouTube TV enforces location restrictions for two reasons: to uphold broadcasting rights signed between regional broadcasters and content owners; and to prevent password-sharing among its customers.

In addition to the location restrictions we discussed in the guide, YouTube TV restricts every account to only three simultaneous streams and to a maximum of six members per family (who must all have the same Home Area).

How Does YouTube TV Block VPNs?

There are several ways YouTube TV detects VPN connections.

Firstly, its automated detection system monitors in real-time IP addresses using the service, and cross-references them against a known list of VPN server addresses.

If there’s a match, the system blocks the VPN IP address and you’ll see this error message: “YouTube TV VPN Proxy Detected.”

The other common method used to block VPNs is if hundreds of users are streaming at the same time using the same IP address.

In this case, YouTube will block the IP address in question and blacklist it.

How Often Can I Change My Current Playback Area?

Unlike your Home Area, you can update your Current Playback Area as often as you want.

Each change requires location verification, though. YouTube TV will check your IP address and either your GPS or HTML5 geolocation every time you update your Playback Area.

You’ll therefore need your VPN and location-spoofing setup active for every switch.

Can I Watch the NFL on YouTube TV without Sunday Ticket?

Yes, you can definitely watch blackout NFL games on YouTube TV without NFL Sunday Ticket.

By changing your location with a VPN and a location spoofer, you can watch any Sunday game you want by accessing a live regional broadcast in a different state.