5 Best VPNs for Hulu in January 2022 [Unblock Hulu Anywhere]

Hulu consists of over 5,000 titles (movies and TV shows) with amazing original shows like The HandmaidsTale. But, sadly the service only works in the USA and Japan. So, you will need a VPN if you’re residing in the UK, Australia, Canada, Singapore, or anywhere abroad, you won’t be able to access the platform.

Unfortunately, not all VPNs are able to unblock Hulu. Don’t worry as we bring you 5 VPNs that work with Hulu, and offer the best streaming speeds. These VPNs have been shortlisted after testing 160+ VPN services on various performance criteria and their ability to unblock Hulu.

Why Do You Need a VPN to Watch Hulu Abroad?

Hulu automatically checks your IP address against known VPN IPs whenever you connect to their service. In case there’s a match, Hulu will know you are using a VPN and deny access, giving the following error message:

You might also see error messages like these too:

But when you use a VPN for Hulu, you can spoof your virtual location to appear in the U.S and gain access to Hulu abroad. When you connect to a US server, you get an American IP address, thus tricking Hulu into thinking that you are trying to access it from within the US. This way you can watch Hulu in UK, Canada, Australia, and anywhere abroad.

5 Best VPNs to Watch Hulu in January 2022 [In-Depth Analysis]

As I mentioned before, not many VPNs have what it takes to unblock Hulu. After testing 45+ VPNs, we have shortlisted 5 VPNs for Hulu that can easily help you bypass Hulu’s VPN blocks:

1. ExpressVPN – The Best VPN for Hulu

ExpressVPN is the best VPN for watching Hulu outside the US. It offers 3000+ servers in 94 countries and among these, 23+ are located in 14 US cities, making it a perfect choice for unblocking Hulu abroad.

ExpressVPN is extremely effective at bypassing geo-restrictions on Hulu as we were able to stream ‘Future Man‘ in Ultra HD quality. It unblocked Hulu within 7 seconds which was very impressive.

When testing ExpressVPN with Hulu, we found its servers to be fast. Even on long-distance servers, we got good speeds. We connected to various US servers from all the way to Spain and found that it did not throttle my internet speed.

During testing, we also used ExpressVPN with a bunch of other streaming services as well. Overall, it is an excellent VPN for accessing HBO Go outside the U.S, Netflix, and even Disney Plus as well.

You can connect up to 5 devices at the same time, It offers apps for Windows, iOS, macOS, Android, FireStick, and more.

It also features MediaStreamer, a Smart DNS that can unblock almost all major streaming platforms, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, BBC iPlayer, and more. With this feature, you can stream on devices that don’t offer native support for VPNs like Smart TVs, Apple TV, PlayStation, Xbox, Roku, and more.

ExpressVPN is available for $6.67/mo (Save 49% and get 3 extra months FREE with 12-month plan) with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can try it risk-free for 30 days and it is also offering an amazing 3 Months Free subscription on its 12-monthly plan.

You can read our ExpressVPN review for more information.

2. Surfshark – Budget-friendly VPN for Hulu

Surfshark is one of the most budget-friendly VPNs and a perfect choice for unblocking Hulu from abroad. It has a decent server base with 3200+ servers in 65 countries and more than 500+ servers in the US. Therefore, with Surfshark you have a lot of options in terms of servers to watch Hulu from anywhere outside the US.

When testing Hulu with Surfshark, we could easily stream “Pen15” when connected to Surfshark’s United States Bend server. Its Bend server was the fastest giving a consistent download speed of 75 Mbps on a base connection of 100 Mbps.

At this speed, we could easily stream in Ultra HD quality. Note that the video playback quality depends upon your base connection speed.

Apart from Hulu, Surfshark also works with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Showtime, BBC iPlayer, HBO Now, and more.

With one Surfshark account, you can connect unlimited devices at the same time. It offers easy-to-use apps for Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, FireStick, and more. You also get a Smart DNS feature that allows you to stream on Smart TVs, PlayStation, Xbox, Roku, and more.

Surfshark is a highly affordable VPN, available for just $2.30/mo (82% Off on 2 Years + 2 Months Free Plan), and offers a 30-day money-back guarantee along with a 7-day free trial. So, you can test it yourself and try it with Hulu without worrying about anything.

Read our Surfshark review for more details.

3. NordVPN – Fastest VPN for Hulu

NordVPN is one of the fastest VPNs for watching Hulu from outside the US with excellent unblocking ability. NordVPN is great when it comes to unblocking geo-restricted content.

NordVPN has excellent unblocking ability owing to its 5100+ servers in 60 countries including 1970+ servers in the United States alone. So, with NordVPN you will never have to face any issue unblocking Hulu outside the US.

During testing, we were able to stream Rick and Morty in Ultra HD on its Chicago server which was the fastest. It managed to deliver a download speed of 91 Mbps on a 100 Mbps base connection.

With one NordVPN subscription, you can connect up to 6 devices at the same time. It also offers apps for all popular streaming devices such as Windows, iOS, Android, Mac, Amazon FireStick, and more.

One cool thing about NordVPN is that it offers a built-in SmartPlay feature. This feature effectively unblocks popular streaming services like Hulu in just a matter of minutes. With SmartPlay, you can stream Hulu on your Smart TV, Apple TV, and other devices.

Despite costing only $3.71/mo (Save 68% on 2 Years Plan), NordVPN still offers 6 simultaneous connections and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Read our NordVPN review for more details.

4. CyberGhost – User-friendly VPN for Hulu

CyberGhost is the most user-friendly VPN for watching Hulu outside the USA. It offers 7000+ servers in 90 countries, including 1270+ servers in the United States. So, you can choose from multiple servers to unblock Hulu from abroad.

What’s best about CyberGhost is that it offers optimized servers for Hulu and other streaming platforms like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Disney+, etc. So, in order to unblock Hulu, you can simply connect to its Hulu-optimized server.

As for streaming quality, CyberGhost performed similarly to other VPNs we have looked over so far. We were able to stream Books of Blood in HD quality without any buffering.

CyberGhost did take a few seconds at the start of the video to load, but after that, there was no buffering during the stream.

CyberGhost is also compatible with all major devices, including Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, browsers (Chrome, Firefox), and more. It also supports 7 multi-logins so you can stream on multiple devices at the same time.

If we talk about pricing, CyberGhost costs just $2.15/mo . Even though CyberGhost is quite affordable, it still offers a 45-day refund policy. So, you can give CyberGhost a try with Hulu risk-free.

Read our CyberGhost review for more details.

5. IPVanish – Reliable Hulu VPN

IPVanish is a reliable VPN to watch Hulu from anywhere outside the US with its powerful unblocking capabilities. It features over 1900+ servers in 75+ countries and 1169+ servers in the U.S. It offers VPN servers even in Mexico.

During testing, we had no issues accessing Hulu with IPVanish, as it unblocked the platform within 15 seconds, and there was no buffering. Video quality depends entirely on your internet connection, but rest assured as IPVanish doesn’t throttle your bandwidth, so you are sure to get the fastest speeds for streaming.

We streamed Hulu on a 100 Mbps base connection, and with IPVanish we got a download speed of 67.3 Mbps which was more than enough to watch Hulu in HD quality. 

Other than Hulu, IPVanish also efficiently unblocks AMC outside the U.S and can be used to access Amazon Prime Video as well.

Another great thing is that IPVanish allows unlimited simultaneous connections so you can enjoy Hulu on multiple devices at the same time. It is also compatible with all major devices like iOS, Windows, Android, macOS, FireStick, and more.

Overall, IPVanish is a great choice for watching Hulu from abroad as it supports unlimited simultaneous connections and is available for a price of just $3.75/mo . You can also test out the service with its 30-day money-back guarantee.

To know more about this VPN, check out our IPVanish review.

Testing Methodology: How to choose the best VPN for Hulu

Although we only recommend using the VPNs we’ve listed in this blog post, you can also find reliable VPNs if you know what to look for. To do so, make sure the VPN you choose offers:

• Large server network — Optimized U.S servers that can unblock Hulu from anywhere.
• Unlimited bandwidth — Fast speeds so you can stream Hulu content in HD quality.
• Customer support — 24/7 live chat support to get help picking optimized servers for Hulu.
• DNS leak protection — Private DNS servers to prevent Hulu from blocking it.
• Multi logins — Offers more than 5 simultaneous connections.
• Money-back guarantee — 30+ day refund policy to test out the service risk-free.
• Easy to use apps — Apps for iOS, Windows, macOS, Android, and more.

⚠ VPNs that should be avoided for Hulu

As we mentioned earlier, not all VPNs can unblock Hulu. I know this because I’ve personally tested 75+ VPNs that just don’t work. The following VPNs do not work with Hulu as of the time of writing this guide:

• Zenmate — Failed to work with Hulu during my testing.
• Hotspot Shield — Prompted me to the proxy error almost instantly.
• Hola — Due to its peer-to-peer network, it was unable to unblock Hulu.
• CactusVPN — Couldn’t unblock Hulu despite offering a decent server network.
• IronSocket — Could not bypass the Hulu proxy error.
• Unotelly — Doesn’t offer optimized servers for Hulu.
• Buffered — Failed to unblock Hulu even after multiple attempts.
• TunnelBear — Its U.S servers were unable to unblock Hulu.

Can I Use a Free VPN to Watch Hulu?

Even though there are a lot of awesome free VPNs in the market, you will not be able to watch Hulu with them.

Why?

Well, the firewalls of streaming giants like Hulu and Netflix are quite sophisticated and free VPN providers obviously don’t have the network resources to rotate their IP addresses on a constant basis and prevent detection for a possible ban from Hulu.

Here are a few reasons why free VPNs are not recommended for Hulu:

• Free VPNs log your user data and sell it to third parties. Research shows almost 40% of the free VPNs log user data for money.
• Free VPNs have limited servers that make them bad at unblocking and streaming.
• Free VPNs offer extremely slow speeds as their servers are overcrowded with users.
• Free VPNs don’t encrypt your data, which puts your online security at risk.

While the idea of a free VPN is very tempting, we still suggest using a premium VPN for accessing Hulu. You can use ExpressVPN as it offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and is also offering a limited-time offer of a 3-months FREE subscription on its 12-month plan.

Does Hulu block VPN services?

Although you shouldn’t experience any errors when using a reliable VPN with strong security mechanisms, there’s still a slight chance that you might face some problems.

The most common issue that Hulu users face is the dreaded Hulu proxy error. With powerful blockers, Hulu might be able to detect that you’re using a VPN, and if it suspects you are currently using one, it will display an error message something like this:

This usually happens if your VPN is leaking IPv6 addresses. The easy fix to this error is to simply disable IPv6 on your computers.

How to fix Hulu proxy error?

Fixing the Hulu proxy error is quite easy. It’ll only take you a couple of minutes max. Here’s how to do that on Windows 10 and Mac OS platforms:

How to Disable IPv6 For Windows Users

• Open the Run prompt -> type ncpa.cpl and press Enter
• Right-click the connection you are using and press Properties
• Select Networking tab
• Uncheck the box next to “Internet Protocol Version 6 or TCP/IPv6
• Click Ok.

How to Disable IPv6 For Mac OS Users

• On the Apple menu
• Go to System Preferences -> Network -> Network Preferences
• Click AirPort -> Advanced -> TCP/IP -> Configure IPv6 pop-up menu
• Click “Off”
• Press Ok and Apply Changes

How to purchase Hulu from outside the US?

If you already have a Hulu subscription and are traveling away from the U.S for a while, you just need to have a VPN for Hulu equipped with U.S servers to be able to access Hulu on your trip abroad.

But what if you’re not an American and still have this burning itch to enjoy Hulu’s exclusive content?

In this case, you will face an extra hurdle apart from the geo-restriction that prevents access to Hulu, because you’ll also need to pay for the subscription using a payment service that is accepted in the U.S.

There are two ways to purchase a Hulu subscription outside the US: by asking a friend or family living in the US having a US-based credit card or purchasing a Hulu subscription with a gift card.

Method 1: Sign up for Hulu with a US credit card

If you have a friend or a relative in America who is willing to help you purchase a Hulu subscription, then you can use their credit card to make a purchase from outside the US.

So, if you have a US credit card, follow these steps to subscribe to Hulu from abroad:

Method 2: Gift Cards for Hulu

Follow these steps to create to subscribe to Hulu with a Gift Card:

What channels are available on Hulu?

Hulu offers content from different channels depending on which subscription plan you’ve purchased. Some of these include:

How to Watch Hulu Using a VPN on Different Devices?

Hulu is compatible with pretty much all popular devices you can think of. Needless to say, compatibility isn’t going to be an issue. Anyway, let me now show you how to stream Hulu on different devices.

How to Stream Hulu on the iPhone & iPad?

In order to stream Hulu on your iPhone or iPad, you’ll need to first get the Hulu app from the Apple App Store. To do this, you’ll need to create a new Apple ID with a U.S address. You can find detailed steps here.

Once you’ve created a U.S Apple ID and downloaded the Hulu app, follow these steps:

1. Choose a VPN and subscribe (we recommend ExpressVPN as it offers easy-to-use apps for iOS and works with Hulu).
2. Now download and install the VPN app on your iOS device.
3. Launch the VPN app and connect to a US server.
4. Go to Settings > click on Apple ID.
5. View Media and Purchased and Sign in
6. Scroll down and in Country/ Region opinion, change the country to the US.
7. Apple changes and head to the App Store
8. Search for Hulu and download the app
9. Now launch the Hulu app and start streaming your favorite shows and movies.

How to Stream Hulu on Android?

To be able to stream Hulu on your Android device, you will need to first download its app. But if you’re outside the U.S, you will need access to U.S Google Play Store. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Fire up your VPN app and connect to a U.S server.
2. After that, head over to Settings > Google Play Store.
3. Tap on ‘Account’ -> Add Another Account -> Enter New Gmail ID (with US as region)
4. Go to Play Store -> Search for Hulu App -> Click Install
5. Open the Hulu app sign in and enjoy streaming.

How to Stream Hulu on Windows?

You can either use the Hulu desktop app or your browser to stream everything that Hulu has to offer. But before you get excited, if you live outside the U.S, you will need a VPN to unblock Hulu. If you’ve already purchased a VPN subscription, you can just follow these steps:

1. Launch ExpressVPN app
2. Connect to a U.S server (we recommend New Jersey – 3 server)
3. Now, launch the Hulu app or use your browser to visit hulu.com.
4. Finally, search for any title and start streaming.

How to Stream Hulu on macOS?

Streaming Hulu on macOS is similar to the Windows method I just showed you. But if you still need help, just follow these simple steps:

1. Purchase a VPN subscription (ExpressVPN is recommended as it offers 23 US servers).
2. Fire up the VPN app.
3. Connect to a U.S Server (New Jersey 3 recommended)
4. Launch the Hulu app.
5. Stream any content on Hulu using your macOS device.

How to Stream Hulu on Apple TV?

Streaming Hulu on your Apple TV outside the U.S is super simple too. just follow these simple steps to get started:

1. Purchase a VPN subscription (ExpressVPN recommended).
2. Configure the VPN onto your router and connect to a U.S server.
3. Download the Hulu app on your Apple TV.
4. Launch the Hulu app on your Apple TV and stream any content you like.

How to Stream Hulu on Roku?

To stream Hulu on Roku, you will simply need to configure a VPN on your router. If you have it configured already, follow these steps:

1. Fire up your Roku device and add the Hulu channel.
2. Now, click on the Hulu channel.
3. Finally, search for any title and start streaming restriction-free.

How to Stream Hulu on Fire TV & Firestick?

Since the Hulu app can be easily downloaded on Fire TV and Firestick devices, you can easily watch amazing content right from your TV. Here’s what you’ll need to do to stream Hulu on your Fire TV or Firestick devices:

1. Purchase a VPN subscription (ExpressVPN recommended).
2. Connect to a U.S server
3. Turn on your Fire TV or Firestick device.
4. Search for the Hulu app and install it.
5. Launch the Hulu app and start streaming your favorite movies and TV shows.

How to Stream Hulu on PS4?

Since gaming consoles don’t have support for VPNs, you will have to configure a VPN directly onto your router to be able to stream Hulu on PS4. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Purchase a VPN subscription (ExpressVPN recommended).
2. Configure the VPN app on your router and connect your PS4 to it.
3. Next, visit the PlayStation Store and download the Hulu app.
4. Once downloaded, launch the Hulu app and start streaming.

How to Stream Hulu on Xbox?

Streaming Hulu on Xbox is similar to the process I just showed you for PS4. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. Purchase a VPN subscription (ExpressVPN recommended).
2. Configure the VPN app onto your router and connect your Xbox to it.
3. Next, visit the Xbox Store and download the Hulu app.
4. Once downloaded, launch the Hulu app and start streaming.

Best VPN for Hulu FAQs

Now that you know what are the best VPNs to unblock Hulu, here are some frequently asked questions about Hulu:

Wrapping Up!

Due to licensing issues, Hulu is only available for U.S and Japanese audiences. Call it unfair or not, that’s the reality. But the good thing is, it is possible to access Hulu with a VPN no matter where you’re located in the world.

With that being said, only a few work reliably with Hulu. Our top recommendation for watching Hulu is ExpressVPN. With ExpressVPN you will have no issue unblocking Hulu as it offers 23+ servers in the US, and is powerful enough to bypass Hulu’s firewalls.

It also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee and a limited-time offer of a 3-month FREE subscription on its 12-monthly plan.