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NordVPN
NordVPN is an excellent VPN, but if you plan to use it on your Apple TV, you might end up disappointed. In my experience, NordVPN’s Apple TV app isn’t nearly as user-friendly as most of the competition. Browsing for servers is a pain because you have no choice but to side-scroll through a list of servers that are arranged in no discernable order. For a VPN with servers in 111 different countries, this user interface choice is baffling. Alternatively, you can search for a specific server, but the server locations don’t begin to populate until you enter the third letter of your search. These are, admittedly minor inconveniences — but still, a thumbs down from me on usability.
Even if you can get past the awkward design of NordVPN’s Apple TV app, you’re not in the clear — the app’s streaming capabilities are horrendous. During my testing of NordVPN’s Apple TV app, I encountered error messages on every single title I attempted to stream on every foreign Netflix library I tried accessing. Hulu detected the VPN and blocked my access to its content even though I was connecting through US servers.
Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Amazon Prime Video and US Netflix worked fine. Still, streaming is the main reason the vast majority of people opt for a VPN on Apple TV, and if NordVPN can’t quite get it right, I suggest passing on it for a VPN that can. I wholeheartedly recommend NordVPN as a solid option for basically anything else, but not for Apple TV.
PrivadoVPN
PrivadoVPN is a relatively new VPN provider that’s been making headway in the industry over the past few years. It’s not a top pick, but its Apple TV app is a decent option for casual users who just want to stream content. I like how the app makes it possible to browse for servers based on latency, which can help you potentially find optimally performing servers and ensure your streaming experience remains smooth. You can also designate favorite servers and browse locations alphabetically, but strangely there’s no option to search for server locations. In any case, the app connected instantly during my tests and streaming was always buffer-free, despite PrivadoVPN’s lackluster speed performance during our most recent speed tests.
PrivadoVPN offers a free plan that’s okay for casual internet browsing, but I don’t recommend it for streaming on Apple TV or any other device because of its 10GB monthly limit (which is about enough to stream one or two movies per month). If that’s enough for you, then give it a shot. During my tests, PrivadoVPN’s free tier failed to give me access to both Netflix and Disney Plus streaming content — although I was able to stream Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Apple TV Plus content on the free plan. With the paid plan, I was able to access streaming content on each of those streaming services as well as on Netflix and Disney Plus. PrivadoVPN’s premium tier gives you access to servers in 49 countries and costs $11 per month, $45 for the first year (then $60 annually) or $54 total for the first two years combined (then $96 every two years).
Proton VPN
Proton VPN is one of the best VPNs available, which is why I was particularly excited to try its brand-new Apple TV app when it was released in October. I found the app to be easy to use, with countries organized in a grid format in alphabetical order — making the process of locating and connecting to a server a breeze. I was able to connect instantly to every server I tried and was able to access content on various streaming platforms including Netflix, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Max and Hulu.
Although the app is fully functional and performs well across streaming platforms, it’s the most barebones Apple TV VPN app I’ve encountered thus far. Granted, the Apple TV apps released by other VPNs don’t exactly offer an abundance of features, but Proton VPN’s app offers even less. Proton VPN’s Apple TV app is completely devoid of settings or options of any sort. There are no options to search for a country or set a specific server as a favorite. There’s also no option to select specific cities within any country location.
For these reasons, Proton VPN’s Apple TV app doesn’t quite stack up with the top picks in this category. The app is still brand new and Proton VPN will surely improve the app with additional features and added functionality in future releases. If you’re OK with the limited functionality of the app, it’s still a solid option for streaming and Proton VPN is an excellent VPN overall for a wide variety of use cases. Proton VPN costs $10 per month, $60 for the first year (then $80 annually) or $108 for the first two years combined (then $80 annually). All plans include a 30-day money-back guarantee.
