5 best VPNs for Twitch in 2022 (unblock anywhere – fast, safe access)

Twitch.tv is a video streaming platform that allows you to stream your preferred video games, e-sports events, music broadcasts, and many more things while simultaneously interacting with other top streamers and your audience in real-time.

So being on Twitch is a lot of fun and the most fantastic hobby on the internet until someone, for some reason, denies you access or some of the site’s content is blocked for you. That can happen for several reasons.

So there you are. Look at your favorite internet website’s “Content not available” sign while you wonder what to do next. No, really, where do you go from here? You use a VPN for Twitch. That will allow you to bypass the block and join the action once again. It’s a straightforward solution, and it has many additional advantages.

When you connect to Twitch (or any other server) using a VPN, the site will see your traffic is originating from an IP address other than yours that could even be in a different country. Spoofing your location like this will give you the ability to access content in Twitch, or any other service, that would otherwise be unavailable to you. And, in the process, your privacy and your anonymity will be significantly enhanced.

Using a VPN to connect to Twitch will seem nothing short of magic once you try it – if you use the right VPN, of course. Yes, the VPN you choose matters because not all VPNs are the same, even the best ones. You see, a streaming service such as Twitch offers a particular set of challenges that not every VPN is ready to solve correctly. But not to worry.

We’ve already researched and conducted rigorous tests, so you don’t have to worry about anything. NordVPN, our number one recommended VPN for Twitch (or any other task), will bypass any geoblock in style (and speed). But there are also other four great options for you to choose the one that suits you best.

Best Twitch VPNs – The quick list

If you’re in a bit of a rush and you just want to get the gist of it, here are my five top choices. Further details are available for you to read later in this article if you have some more time:

1. NordVPN – Everybody’s favorite VPN network could not fail us with Twitch. And it’s cost-effective too.
2. Surfshark – The industry’s young disrupter is the best deal in town, providing an excellent service for a competitive fee.
3. ExpressVPN – It gets everything right and keeps rotating its IP addresses to keep up with Twitch’s sneaky IP bans.
4. IPVanish – Excellent service with a friendly user interface will make things straightforward to you and prevent your ISP from throttling your connection as you enjoy Twitch.
5. PrivateVPN – The surprise element is never to be underestimated. PrivateVPN wasn’t among my expected elements in this list, but it’s good, so it’s there.

What makes a top Twitch VPN service?

A good VPN service is supposed to perform two tasks effectively. First, it must hide your physical IP address from the world while showing the one that belongs to one of its servers. Second, it must encrypt all your incoming and outgoing traffic so that any external observer sees nothing but white noise coming in and out of your computer.

The question then is, are those two things enough for you to enjoy a good Twitch experience? Unfortunately, the answer is no, which is why even some of the best VPNs in the business are not suited for video streaming, even if they excel at privacy and other features.

Let’s be clear about something: encryption and IP spoofing are not negotiable. If you don’t get that, you don’t have a VPN service, period. But for Twitch, you will need another feature, too: high bandwidth.

Supporting the video streams you want to send in or get from Twitch requires a VPN ideal for streaming that can support those data transfers with high-speed connections without imposing any data cap. If you can’t have that, you’ll spend too much time buffering your videos or with a lag that will defeat the purpose in real-time interactions.

Stability is also crucial. It’s not good enough to achieve the fast and secure connection you want. Your network must also sustain it indefinitely, so you need a VPN whose servers are up and running correctly at least 99% of the time. It won’t help you if you can get the link to the VPN and good speeds if you have to reconnect to the same, or other, server every 15 minutes or so.

And there’s one last thing. You want a VPN that follows a strict no-logs policy. This has nothing to do with Twitch’s functionality but with protecting your privacy and anonymity online.

The best services won’t keep logs of any kind on your activities, and that’s precisely what you want. Do not forget that your VPN knows what you’re doing and when at all times. The only way your provider can never spill the beans on you is for it to have no beans to spill at all.

Hence the no-logs policy. As far as we are concerned, this feature is as crucial in any VPN service every bit as much as good encryption.

The top five VPNs for Twitch – The detailed analysis

Your Twitch user experience can be greatly enhanced with a VPN. It will improve your security and anonymity, and it will also help you unblock content unavailable to you because of your physical location or other bans. Following are the best VPNs you can use for this.

1. NordVPN

NordVPN is a favorite with a lot of the VPN enthusiasts out there for excellent reasons. Indeed this server is so good that it comes close to ExpressVPN in quality and a great user experience, and it’s slightly cheaper.

Its network of 5,000 servers in 60 countries gives you many options to unblock Twitch worldwide. And those options will also enable you to unblock many other popular streaming services.

The connections speeds are good enough to support HD video streams for hours. And the lack of data caps or bandwidth limitations will let you binge-Twitch to your heart’s content. And since you will have access to a lot of additional content by ignoring the blocks, you’ll have so much more to watch!

Encryption at NordVPN is up there with the best, so nobody will ever know what you’re doing. And if you like your anonymity to extend as far as your payment options, this is a VPN service you can pay with Bitcoin.

Windows, iOS, macOS, Android, Linux, Amazon Fire, and Android TV devices all work correctly with NordVPN, which means that almost every Twitch-compatible toy is on the list.

And then there’s NordVPN’s SmartDNS service. We won’t bore you with the technical details about what is SmartDNS. Instead, this is what you really need to know: some devices are incompatible with VPN under normal conditions (smart TVs or gaming consoles, for instance).

SmartDNS allows those devices to connect through the VPN, thus allowing you to use them with Twitch as well – but keep in mind that SmartDNS doesn’t encrypt your traffic. It will enhance your functionality vis a vis unblocking content, but it won’t improve your privacy or anonymity. So use it wisely and do not take unnecessary risks.

Customer service is excellent for NordVPN users. Since everything about this service is so easy to use, you shouldn’t need extra help to make things run smoothly. However, if you’re a new VPN user or want a more customized experience, then the staff at customer service has your back quickly and reliably.

Last but not least, there is a 30-day money-back guarantee in NordVPN, so you can try the network for an entire month before you decide you want to pay for it monthly.

Overall, NordVPN is the best-balanced service in this list, which is why every review you find online about it seems too good to be true. 

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2. Surfshark

Surfshark is the VPN industry’s enfant terrible. It’s a relatively new company disrupting the market with a premium service that costs only a fraction of the average price. This is a network that charges you the fee of a bottle of beer and delivers a bottle of champagne.

Access to Twitch and many other streaming services with SurfShark is reliable and safe. The connections are fast and secure. You will find servers, connect to them quickly, and then have your video stream run smoothly.

The VPN’s global network includes 3,200 servers in more than 60 countries. Many of those servers are based in countries where Twitch is available, so you will be spoiled for choices.

Besides the high speeds, Surfshark’s connections boast, they’re safe, protected with the best encryption in the business, secure against DNS leaks, and it has a kill switch. And there are other perks too.

For example, the service includes tracker blocking, malware, phishing protection, and a MultiHop option (it routes your traffic through two VPN servers instead of one, thus adding an extra encryption layer, but this is not recommended for video streaming).

Customer support is excellent at Surfshark, and you can connect as many devices to the network as you have or want, which makes it even more cost-effective than the competition.

If you are looking for the most bang for your buck option, this is the one by far.

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3. ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is the best option in the market by far. Whatever the task you have in mind for a VPN, ExpressVPN can do it efficiently and in style. That includes unblocking Twitch.

The network boasts more than 3,000 servers in 94 countries, and each license covers five concurrent devices. So it won’t only unblock Twitch but also Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, DAZN, and Twitch. And it works with Linux, macOS, Windows, iOs, and Android without any problems.

The speeds in ExpressVPN are impressive, and the bandwidth is unlimited. That makes this option the natural pick to use in tandem with streaming sites and services. You will not be stuck in buffering, wait for loading times, have a pixelated or stuttering video with this network. Instead, your video will flow smoothly and as close as real-time as you can get.

The privacy policy is impressive, and it’s strictly zero-log keeping. So ExpressVPN will never keep a database on your browsing history, data usage, IP address, or other usage data.

There is yet another feature in ExpressVPN which makes it the best option for Twitch. Twitch is not crazy about users using VPN or other proxies to circumvent their geolocation restrictions.

So the site invests a good deal of effort in detecting the offenders and stoping them. That means that even if you bypass Twitch’s limitations for a period, that could stop as it identifies your server and blocklists it. That can’t happen with ExpressVPN. The VPN has its IP addresses under regular rotation, so even the best anti-VPN measures in the industry don’t keep up with ExpressVPN.

And before you invest any money in ExpressVPN, you can take advantage of the 30-day money-back trial, use the network for 30 days and then decide if it is worth the fee. It is, of course, but you can make up your own mind.

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4. IPVanish

IPVanish’s claim to fame within the VPN industry is that it excels in anonymous torrenting. This is a big deal because many VPN services do not support torrenting at all (on legal or ethical grounds), and even among those that do allow it, the network speeds can’t support a good session.

The technical requirements you need for torrenting in VPNs are very similar to those you need for streaming sites, which is why IPVanish is perfect for Twitch.

The IPVanish network includes 1,900 servers in 75 countries. It lets you connect an unlimited number of devices simultaneously; it has a 30-day money-back guarantee. In addition, it can successfully unblock YouTube, Hotstar, SlingTV, HBO, Netflix, and, of course, Twitch. Also, it works well with Chromebook, routers, and FireTV, besides the usual suspects.

This VPN platform provides a set of user-friendly apps that make it easy to connect. In addition, speeds and bandwidth are unlimited, so throttling will never be a problem for you.

The encryption in IPVanish is on par with any of the industry’s best, and the service includes a robust kill-switch that will cut your traffic off if it detects that your secure connection has been severed.

The policy is to keep zero logs, and it’s stated in what is probably the most transparent statement in the market. Every single entry in my top five Twitch VPNs is a good VPN for privacy, security, and anonymity. But among the five options I show here, IPVanish has the most substantial commitment to those values.

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5. PrivateVPN

PrivateVPN is probably not everything it says it is, but it remains a good option that will serve you well as a Twitch VPN.

The company’s advertising sells it as the “Fastest-growing VPN Worldwide.” It’s not hard to believe that at all. If you consider that the network includes 200+ servers in 60+ countries only, it’s the smallest network among the options I suggest in this article, so it has so much room for growth that it could easily be the fastest-growing VPN worldwide for sure.

However, the number of nodes in a network isn’t everything. It’s not even the most crucial factor in the service’s performance. You can have few servers, but you won’t see much difference compared to more extensive networks if they all perform well and have enough bandwidth. And that’s the case with PrivateVPN. The speeds are fast enough to support 4k video streams.

PrivateVPN unblocks HBO, Netflix, and Hulu – and yes, it goes without saying that it does a great job with Twitch too.

The encryption is military-grade, with no data caps or bandwidth limits. The no-logs policy holds with this service too, and the availability of Bitcoin as a payment method makes it the top VPN supporting crypto. That allows PrivateVPN’s customers to go 100% unidentified if they so wish.

Support for operating systems is not as extensive in PrivateVPN. macOS, Windows, Android, and iOS are covered, which will suit most users in the world for sure. On the other hand, it supports extensive router configuration.

That means that the lack of support for Linux doesn’t need to be a problem. If you configure your home router to use PrivateVPN, all your traffic, including that which comes from Linux or other unsupported devices, will remain protected by the VPN.

The customer support is superb as well, and it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

So don’t be fooled by PrivateVPN’s relatively more minor network. It has all the bases covered, and it will give you everything you need to connect and unblock Twitch.

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How to stream Twitch content with a VPN quickly

Using a good VPN in tandem with Twitch can only enhance your experience. And it’s a straightforward process. You just need to follow these steps:

• Pick one of the VPN services in this article and sign up for an account.
• If your devices or operating systems need an app from your VPN, download it and install it.
• Connect to a server in your VPN’s network. Make sure that the server you choose is based in a country that is Twitch-accessible.
• Launch your favorite Twitcher and start your Twitch session.
• That’s it! Now you are Twitching while being private, safe, anonymous, and unblocked!

Why is it good to use a VPN for Twitch?

A VPN will bypass geolocation-based content restrictions on Twitch better than any other tool, and that in itself is enough reason to use the VPN in the first place. But there are other advantages as well. Let’s dig into them.

Geoblocks

Online controversy is the feature, not a bug, so Twitch videos share in that. Some countries have strict internet content policies in which some Twitch content is “objectionable,” and it can’t be shown to their citizens.

Take China. The government there likes to preemptively ban Western websites that are growing too quickly for their taste. Twitch is one of those, so you can’t see it in China. Russia also blocked the site “unintentionally” because it blocked a set of IP addresses related to Amazon and Google. So the Russian ban was not strictly political, but it nevertheless happened.

And Twitch also practices auto-censorship because of licensing issues. For instance, it streams some Crunchyroll shows licensed for Europe and the US only, so you are not supposed to see them if you are connecting from a different country.

Another exceptional case is India, where you can’t sign up for Twitch Prime – the VIP option that includes bonus games and other perks.

You can avoid all those limitations by connecting to Twitch through a VPN server located in a country where the whole platform’s content is available, such as the US or the UK. So, for example, if you connect to the site through a VPN server physically located in the US, Twitch will think you’re in the US and will treat you accordingly, wherever you really are in the world.

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Network blocks

But living in a repressive country is not the only reason that could prevent you from reaching Twitch. For example, maybe your office’s or university network is configured, so you can’t use it. That makes sense. Employers and universities complain that access to such sites is distracting and does not help the process (work or study) they’re supposed to promote.

Your VPN will also get around those limitations. Because all your traffic is encrypted and goes through the VPN tunnel, and it first goes to the VPN’s server, your boss or university is none the wiser about what you’re doing. So they will never figure out that you’re connected to Twitch nor be able to prevent it.

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IP bans

Your IP address could be associated with a violation of Twitch’s terms of service. It doesn’t have to be because of you, but because another user tried to bend the rules when that IP was assigned to him before it became yours. So if you’re unlucky in this way, for Twitch, you’re the guilty party. It won’t grant you access, innocent as you may be.

A VPN will give you a brand new IP with no criminal history, so you will be able to access Twitch without any problems whatsoever. And it will be a fresh IP each time, so you can never miss a connection to Twitch again.

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ISP throttling

ISPs don’t like users who make too intensive a use of the service they pay for. So, for instance, if you are addicted to Netflix and you’re streaming 4k videos 24/7, your ISP will notice and limit your bandwidth use. How is that fair, we hear you ask? Well, it’s not, but some ISPs do that anyway, so fairness is kind of besides the point. That’s called throttling, and it will become increasingly frequent as net neutrality becomes diluted in the US.

And here is where the VPN makes a difference again. Your ISP can tell you’re using a lot of data, but it has no idea what you’re doing with it. They won’t throttle your connection if they don’t know what you’re doing because they are blind to your activities.

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Twitch is slow in my country; How can a VPN help me?

You’re probably in the UAE. The government controls the country’s primary ISPs (Etisalat and Du), and they’re suspected of throttling users who like watching Twitch streams. According to some user reports, throttling can be nothing short of wild (up to 70% of your bandwidth). Once you’ve lost so much speed, keeping up with a Twitch connection becomes impossible. Similar things are known to happen in Indonesia and a few more countries.

So how can you tell if you’re getting the throttle treatment? There is no way to be 100% sure, of course, but you can be reasonably confident about that if you try this: watch your internet speeds closely when you’re doing anything online other than being at Twitch. Then go to Twitch. If you see that you lose a significant amount of your bandwidth when you’re connecting to that site, then you could be the victim of throttling. But you can get around it.

Your ISP limits your connection speeds based on specific sites it doesn’t want you to use too much, like Twitch. If you use a VPN, the ISP can’t find out the site you’re using. It can only see your connection to a VPN server, but not the contents of your activities, because all your traffic is encrypted.

So if you take away your ISP’s ability to see that you’re connecting to Twitch, you’re also preventing it from limiting your bandwidth. And that’s what a VPN does.

How about using a free VPN with Twitch?

Since you’re doing the research, you need to use a VPN with Twitch; you will unavoidably come across free VPN providers. Free VPNs can look like a desirable option. But I never recommend them for any general task. And if your goal is to stream video, a free VPN is even less suitable because their networks tend to be smaller, and the available bandwidth is more scarce, data is often capped.

So your connections will be slow, unreliable, and even getting successful links to a VPN server could take you a while.

And there’s another issue with free VPNs. They may not charge you a fee, but they’re not as cheap as you could think.

Here’s what you need to keep in mind when you are an actor in the digital economy. First, whenever a product is made available free of charge to you, you must consider the possibility that you are the product and not the thing you are consuming.

Second, in that context, you are paying something for the product or service, even if it’s not with your money. That doesn’t preclude the possibility of being too expensive.

So how does this apply to free VPNs? Well, paying for high bandwidths (even if they’re relatively subpar) and keeping a server network online around the globe (even if it’s also subpar) costs a lot of money. And how is the free VPN paying its bills? Well, they have to engage in a business model that could be somewhat shady and abuses your privacy to make a profit.

Don’t get me wrong. There are good, reputable free VPNs out there. But they’re exceptional, not the rule in that industry, and not more than a handful. Still, even those few good actors won’t give you the high speeds you need for extended periods.

If you’ve read so far, you’ve probably noticed how the zero logs policy is a big deal for us – or any privacy-focused user online, for that matter. How is that relevant, I hear you ask? Most free VPNs have a business model that works like this: they will keep logs on you. They will track your activity and keep a detailed record; they know you better than you do yourself because they’re paying more attention and making an effort to remember you.

This record then goes to companies willing to pay well for that data because they can analyze it and make it profitable. So that’s how you become the product on sale. You and your online activities. So whatever it is you do online through a VPN is not private at all. So yes, you will get the encryption and the IP masks, and that’s utterly worthless if somebody else knows you inside and out anyway.

And it gets even worse. The scenario explained in the previous paragraph is the most benign one. Free VPNs can load your devices with malware or hijack your resources such as bandwidth and computing power to feed them into a botnet. It’s not paranoia; we’ve seen that happen over the years with fishy networks such as HolaVPN.

So how free is a free VPN, really? Yes, it can be costless in monetary terms. But when you take everything into account, it could be too expensive.

But the chances are that even if you want to take advantage of the “free” service, you’ll find that it just doesn’t cut it. The low quality of free VPNs will never let you have a steady video stream. And, on top of that, the free options usually have a data cap that you will deplete in a few minutes.

In short: whatever task you need your VPN to do for you, always use a paid service. The average cost for a good VPN is about 10 USD monthly, and it can go as low as 2 USD monthly if you choose an extended subscription. Don’t sell your privacy to free VPNs, please.

Conclusion

So no, you don’t need a VPN for Twitch. But you should use one nevertheless.

You see, connecting to Twitch is not always as easy as it should be. Many things can get in the way: ISP throttling, IP bans, local network blocks, geoblocks (commercial or political). But you can render all those obstacles meaningless by just signing up for a decent Twitch VPN service, wherever you are on the planet.

And a VPN is the tool that enables you to unblock all that content also keeps you safe and anonymous online. In addition, it helps against hackers and malware and will help with many other online activities such as torrenting.

Using a VPN while you’re online is always a good idea. Using one for Twitch is an even better idea. You can’t go wrong with this choice. Happy Twitching!

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