Proton VPN for streaming in 2026: Netflix libraries, TV apps and the free plan

As of October 2026, Proton VPN works for streaming on its paid plans. Its research scores run from 47% for Netflix Germany to 100% for BBC iPlayer (UK), HBO Max (US) and Netflix in Australia and Canada. This page covers each service's score, Proton's TV apps, what the free plan leaves out, its features, prices and owner, and who should pick another VPN.

Proton VPN ranks higher on Fire TV and for Netflix than for streaming overall

Proton VPN does better in some of our narrower rankings than in the streaming one. It is second on Fire TV, behind ExpressVPN: Proton has apps for both Fire TV systems, and nothing we read lists features missing from its Vega OS app. It is third for Netflix, where its 77% across all libraries is the third-highest research score of the seven VPNs we cover, as of October 2026.

Positions among the seven VPNs we cover, scores out of 10. A VPN with too little research data for a use case is not ranked there. Our research, 19 October 2026.

The score combines how well each VPN works in practice in our research, device compatibility, features, and price and refunds. How we rank explains how rankings work on this site. ExpressVPN, NordVPN and Surfshark, the three VPNs ahead of Proton VPN for streaming, are the top three VPNs for streaming and TV on our VPN guides home page.

Proton VPN's research scores are its main strength: it has the highest Netflix UK (91%) and Japan (85%) scores of our five streaming picks, and 100% with BBC iPlayer (UK). For streaming overall, Proton VPN trails ExpressVPN and NordVPN mainly with Disney+ and Prime Video. Both score 99% with Disney+ and 94% or more with Prime Video, against 73% and 85% for Proton VPN. It also trails them with Netflix Germany, at 47% against 67% for ExpressVPN and 88% for NordVPN. NordVPN also offers SmartDNS for some TVs that cannot run a VPN app, while no Smart DNS feature appears on Proton's site.

Against Surfshark, ranked just above it for streaming, Proton VPN has a mixed record in our research:

• In October 2026, Surfshark scores higher with Disney+ (88%, against 73%) and Prime Video (94%, against 85%), and allows unlimited devices at once, where Proton VPN Plus allows 10.
• Proton VPN scores higher with Netflix across all libraries (77%, against 64%) and with HBO Max (95%, against 75%).

Surfshark's lower starting price, as an EU visitor saw it on 6 October 2026, also counts in its favor.

Proton VPN's scores with Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney+ and three more services

As of October 2026, Proton VPN works with all six main streaming services in our research: Netflix, BBC iPlayer (UK), Prime Video, Disney+, HBO Max and Hulu (US). Its research scores run from 73% for Disney+ to 100% for BBC iPlayer (UK). Single Netflix libraries vary more, from 47% for Germany to 100% for Australia and Canada.

Source: whatworks.tech research, October 2026. 100% means all recent evidence says Proton VPN works with that service and library. Checked October 2026.

Proton VPN's strongest services in our research are BBC iPlayer (UK) at 100%, HBO Max (US) at 100% and Hulu (US) at 96%. Its weakest are Disney+ at 73% across all libraries (86% for the US) and Netflix Germany at 47%. There is not enough data for Prime Video in any single country, or for ESPN, Peacock, YouTube TV, ITVX, Channel 4 or Sky Go. The Disney+ scores for all seven VPNs show where that 73% sits.

For Netflix, choose by library: Proton VPN scores 100% for Australia and Canada, 91% for the UK, 85% for Japan, 81% for the US and France, and 47% for Germany. It scores 77% across all Netflix libraries. It leads our picks for the UK and Japan, while NordVPN (88%) and Surfshark (87%) score far higher for Germany. Every provider's scores for all libraries and for the US, UK, Japan and Germany are in the Netflix research table.

Proton VPN's TV apps: Fire OS, Vega OS, Android TV, and Apple TV on paid plans

Proton VPN has TV apps for Fire TV, Android TV and Apple TV, and lists none for Roku, Samsung or LG TVs. Three limits apply: the Fire OS app needs Fire OS 7 or later, and the Apple TV app needs tvOS 17 or later and a paid plan.

• App available; the note gives Proton's limits
• No app listed by Proton

Source: Proton VPN's help pages and app store listings. Checked October 2026.

Proton VPN on a Fire TV Stick: one app for Fire OS, another for Vega OS

Proton VPN has an app for Fire TV Sticks on both Fire OS and Vega OS. On Fire OS sticks, Proton's Android TV app installs from the Amazon Appstore and needs Fire OS 7 or later. Vega OS sticks, such as the Fire TV Stick 4K Select (2025) and Fire TV Stick HD (2026), get a separate app. Proton launched that Vega OS app, version 1.0, on 16 September 2026.

Proton says its Android app will not install on a Vega OS stick, so use the Vega OS app there. Some websites still say Proton supports only Fire OS, but its Amazon Appstore listing says it works on Vega OS sticks. Nothing we read from Proton lists missing features for the Vega OS app. Proton documents auto-connect at start-up only for the Fire OS app, so on a Vega OS stick, check that the VPN is connected before you stream.

Proton VPN's research scores apply on a Fire TV Stick as on any other device, because our research does not separate devices.

Proton VPN on Apple TV and Android TV

Proton VPN's Apple TV app needs tvOS 17 or later and a paid plan. Proton first released it in October 2024 and last updated it in May 2026. Its App Store description still describes Apple TV support as not yet available, though the app is listed for Apple TV. On Android TV and Google TV, the app comes from Google Play, and Proton says it runs on Chromecast with Google TV and on TVs with the Google TV interface.

Proton VPN on Samsung, LG and Roku TVs: a streaming device or a VPN router

On a Samsung, LG or Roku TV, run Proton VPN on a streaming device plugged into the TV, or on a VPN router. Proton VPN lists no app for these TVs, and no Smart DNS feature appears on its site. Smart DNS is a setting typed into the TV's network menu, which some providers offer instead of an app. For LG TVs, NordVPN has a SmartDNS guide, but its SmartDNS lists eight services, mostly US ones, and names Netflix only as "Netflix Originals".

• A Fire TV Stick or an Apple TV plugged into the TV can run Proton's app.
• A VPN router puts every device connected to it on the VPN. Proton's manual guides for router software such as AsusWRT, DD-WRT, OpenWRT and pfSense have you enter its settings in the router's own menu.

What Proton VPN's free plan leaves out for streaming

Proton VPN's free plan does not let you choose which country's catalog you get on a TV. On Proton's TV apps, free users select Connect (Fire OS) or Quick connect (Vega OS), and the app picks the server. The free servers are in 10 countries, none of them in the UK: the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, Poland, Norway, Switzerland, Singapore, Mexico, Canada and the United States.

Our research has no separate score for the free plan. Proton itself says streaming support is only on paid plans. Its Netflix page tells you to use a Plus server, one of the servers that come with paid plans. Of our five streaming picks, Proton VPN is the only one with a documented free plan.

Source: Proton VPN help, pricing and Netflix pages. Checked October 2026.

Proton VPN's device limit, router guides and protocols in 2026

Proton VPN's other streaming features are:

• Proton VPN Plus allows 10 devices at a time.
• Proton's router guides are manual OpenVPN or WireGuard setups for AsusWRT, Merlin, DD-WRT, FreshTomato, GL.iNet Flint, MikroTik, OpenWRT, OPNsense and pfSense. These are names of router software and models.
• Split tunneling in the Android TV app also covers Fire OS sticks, because Proton uses that app on Fire OS.
• Most Proton apps connect with WireGuard, Stealth or Smart Protocol, the connection methods (protocols) Proton offers.

Streaming with Proton VPN: a Plus server in the catalog's country

To stream with Proton VPN, use a paid plan and connect to a server in the country whose catalog you want. The steps below add Proton's own tips, and what to do when a service blocks the VPN:

1. Open the Proton VPN app and choose that country. On the TV apps, select the country and then Connect. On Vega OS, long-press the country to pick a city.
2. Use a Plus server, one of the servers that come with paid plans, as Proton's Netflix page advises.
3. Open the streaming app and play a title. If you see the catalog you wanted, it worked.
4. If the stream slows down, connect to a different server in the same country. Proton says popular locations have several servers.
5. If a service says you are using a VPN or proxy, or shows the wrong catalog, try another server in the same country and reopen the app. Proton's Netflix page gives that advice only for slow streaming; NordVPN's and Surfshark's Netflix help pages suggest a different server for proxy errors.
6. If Netflix shows error E106 ("You seem to be using a VPN or proxy"), follow the E106 fixes for VPN users. They start with switching server.
7. Check that the device's time zone matches the VPN country, and on an iPhone or iPad, check Location Services. Proton's help says Location Services can interfere with streaming, and some services may not work if the time zone differs from the VPN location.

A research score does not mean that every server works. If several servers in one country fail with the same service, check Proton VPN's score for that service above. Where it is low, the table at the end of this page names picks that score higher.

Proton's own pages disagree on where you can stream from

Proton's Netflix page tells you to "connect to a server in your location", but two of its other pages point the other way. Its site-wide menu says "Watch what you want … from wherever you want", and its Fire OS guide is headed "Stream content worldwide".

Proton also says streaming support is only on paid plans, and its Netflix page points paying users to Plus servers. These are Proton's own positions, not a description of what works. The research scores above show what happens in practice with each service.

Proton VPN Plus and Unlimited prices, with a 30-day refund window

Proton VPN's paid plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The table shows Proton VPN Plus and Proton Unlimited on the 2-year term, as an EU visitor saw them on 6 October 2026, with what each renews at.

Introductory prices shown to a visitor in the EU on 11 October 2026. VAT may apply.

Proton's Netflix page says it refunds the payment in full within 30 days. Free users cannot pick a country on Proton's TV apps, so the 30-day window is the practical way to check your services. Subscribe, try the libraries you watch, and ask for a refund within 30 days if they fail.

Proton AG, a Swiss company, runs Proton VPN

Proton AG, which runs Proton VPN, is based in Switzerland, and its primary shareholder is the Proton Foundation, a Swiss nonprofit. The owners of all seven VPNs we cover are side by side in our provider comparison.

The other four of our five streaming picks belong to companies with several brands or businesses. ExpressVPN is one of the brands listed by Kape, a London company that also lists Private Internet Access and CyberGhost. NordVPN is a Nord Security product, and Surfshark joined Nord Security in a 2022 merger, by its own account. IPVanish's pricing page says it is owned by Ziff Davis.

Pick Proton VPN for Netflix UK, Japan and BBC iPlayer, not for Disney+

Proton VPN fits you if you watch Netflix in the UK, Japan, Australia or Canada, or BBC iPlayer (UK), and you will pay for Plus. Pick another VPN if Disney+ or Netflix Germany matters most. On a Samsung, LG or Roku TV, add a streaming device or a VPN router first. None of our picks suits streaming for free.

Source: whatworks.tech research, October 2026; provider help and pricing pages. Checked October 2026.

If Proton VPN fits what you watch, take a paid plan, install the app on the device you watch on, and play a title on each service you use. If one keeps failing on several servers in the right country, ask Proton for a refund within 30 days and pick the VPN the table names for it.

Where to go next

• Netflix with a VPN: every VPN's Netflix scores for all libraries and four countries, and what Netflix's rules say.
• The best VPN for streaming: the full ranking of seven VPNs, with dated prices for each.
• VPN on Fire TV: Fire OS and Vega OS apps compared, and what each Vega OS app leaves out.
• NordVPN's streaming profile: second for streaming, and stronger than Proton VPN with Disney+ and Netflix Germany.
• Fix Netflix error E106: what the message means, with the fixes quickest first.