How to Stream International Sports with a VPN in 2024

There’s nothing better than watching local sports on TV, but the amount of content you can access on your local networks is pretty limited. You can find just about any game or sport you want on international streaming sites, but many of them are restricted to specific countries, putting a limit on what you can access.

Sports fans no longer need to be limited in what they can enjoy watching, from their favorite sport to that must-see championship game, just because it’s not streaming in their home location!

While most sports streaming services, like ESPN+, NBC Sports, Sky Sports, and others are only available in select countries, with a virtual private network (VPN), you can access all of the best sports streaming services from anywhere in the world!

Find out how to use a VPN to access all of your favorite sports streaming websites from around the world, and get all the information you need to find the best VPNs to get the job done well right here!

Why you need a VPN to stream international sports 

Broadcasters buy rights to stream local games and streaming services require country-specific licenses for all of their content, including the right to stream live sports. All of the major streaming services use geo-blocks to uphold their licensing agreements and prevent viewers from other countries from streaming sports on their sites.

If the sporting event you want to watch isn’t available on any of the streaming sites in your location, you won’t be able to watch, unless you’ve got one of the best VPNs for streaming.

Sports streaming VPNs can virtually change your location to another country and hide your VPN usage so you can access various sports streaming services from all over the world without getting blocked.

An added advantage of using a VPN to stream sports is it can improve your internet connection speed and save you from buffering and pixelation while you watch. Many internet service providers (ISPs) will throttle your bandwidth if they feel you are using up too much data. A good VPN sends all of your data through an encrypted tunnel. That means they can’t see what you are doing and have no reason to throttle your bandwidth and slow your connection speeds.

What makes a good VPN for streaming sports

When looking for the best sports streaming VPN, here are the key features you want to look for:

• Unblocking capability. Select a VPN service that has a strong track record for unblocking geo-restricted streaming services such as ESPN+, Sky Sport, Fubo TV, and more.
• Speed: The best streaming VPN will be fast, slow streaming speeds lead to buffering, pixelation, or dropped connections which can interfere with your viewing experience.
• Server network. Ideally, the VPN service will have lots of server locations all over the world, so you can access any sports streaming platform you want. Lots of servers can also improve your connection speed by avoiding slowdowns from overcrowded servers.
• Unlimited bandwidth. Get a VPN with no bandwidth limits, so you can enjoy unlimited access and fast connection speeds while streaming your favorite sports content.
• Device compatibility. A VPN for sports should be easy to use and work with all of your home devices. Choose a plan with multiple simultaneous connections so every member of the family can watch their favorite sports at the same time.
• Customer service. The only way to know how good a sports streaming VPN is with certainty is to give it a try, so it’s best to subscribe to a plan with a 30-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 live chat support.

How to use a VPN to stream sports from anywhere

Using a VPN for streaming sports or accessing other geo-restricted websites is easy to do. Just follow the steps listed below!

1. Select a reliable VPN for streaming sports, like ExpressVPN, and purchase a subscription.
2. Download the VPN app onto your device.
3. Use the VPN app to connect to a server in the location where the sports streaming service you want is available.
4. Open the streaming platform you want.
5. Log in to your account, or if necessary create an account. (Note: When you create an account, use a payment method and zip code that is valid in your virtual location.)
6. Enjoy streaming sports with a VPN!

5 best VPNs for sports streaming

After doing a lot of research, we’ve found the five best VPNs for streaming sports and provided a detailed description of their strengths, and what we felt could be better. Keep reading to find out the best way for you to stream sports with a VPN!

1. ExpressVPN 

With the blazing-fast speeds on ExpressVPN, you’ll never have to worry about buffering, dropped connections or pixelation interrupting your show during a crucial play on the field or the court! Plus, ExpressVPN has a broad range of servers, so you can access sports streaming platforms all over the world!

Features: Split tunneling, ad blocking, malware protection, a password manager, unlimited bandwidth, and smart DNS are just some of the high-end features available with your ExpressVPN subscription that can enhance and customize your VPN connection.

Speed: During speed testing using ExpressVPN’s proprietary Lightway protocol, Express was able to maintain 91% of its baseline speed when connected to a US server, which makes it one of the fastest VPNs for streaming sports.

Privacy and security: There are strong measures in place to protect your online privacy and security including AES 256-bit encryption, a verified zero-log policy, a kill switch, RAM-only servers, leak protection, and more!

Performance: ExpressVPN has stable connections and excellent speeds that you can count on for uninterrupted gaming, torrenting, browsing, and streaming sports! We did not experience any delays, lags, or dropped connections while using ExpressVPN.

Streaming: You can unblock all of the popular live sports streaming sites using ExpressVPN including ESPN+, Sky Sports, NBC Sports, Youtube TV, BBC iPlayer, and more! Plus, it has over 3000 servers in 105 countries, so you can enjoy streaming sports events all over the world!

Compatibility: The ExpressVPN apps are easy to use and work with just about any device, including laptops, desktops, mobile devices, smart TVs, gaming consoles, routers, and more. ExpressVPN is compatible with Windows, Android, Linux, iOS, and macOS.

Pricing: While ExpressVPN is one of the best VPNs for streaming sports, it’s not the cheapest. The lowest price you can get is the 12-month plan at $6.67/month. It includes 8 simultaneous connections, 3 months for free, and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

2. NordVPN

NordVPN is a premium VPN service with lots of great features and the speeds needed for live sports streaming, and it costs less than ExpressVPN. It is secure, reliable, and has the best VPN value on the market.

Features: There is no shortage of great features you get when you sign up for NordVPN. Nord offers split tunneling, double VPN, ad blocking, malware protection, dedicated IP addresses, smart DNS, and more! There are no bandwidth limitations with any NordVPN subscription.

Speed: While some decrease in speed is unavoidable when using a VPN since it needs time to encrypt your data, NordVPN keeps it to a minimum. When we tested NordVPN on a local VPN server, it retained an impressive 97% of its baseline speed! NordVPN is one of the top VPNs on the market when it comes to connection speeds.

Privacy and security: The security features on NordVPN are first-rate and include AES 256-bit encryption, a kill switch, IP & DNS leak protection, and a strict no-logs policy.

Performance: The stable connections and fast speeds on NordVPN make it a high-performing VPN for all online activities including browsing, torrenting, gaming, or streaming sports. We did not experience any lags, buffering or interrupted service while connected to a NordVPN server.

Streaming: NordVPN has a great track record for bypassing geo-blocks, so you’ll be able to access all of your favorite live sports streaming sites, including ESPN+, Sportsnet Now, Fubo TV, and more! Plus it has over 5800 servers in 60 countries for easy access to worldwide sporting events.

Compatibility: NordVPN is easy to use and is compatible with all of the common operating systems including Android, Windows, macOS, iOS, and Linux. It works with popular streaming devices like smart TVs, mobile devices, gaming consoles, laptops, desktops, and more. You can also connect it to your router and cover all of your devices at once.

Pricing: The pricing for NordVPN begins at $3.99/month when you sign up for the 24-month standard plan. It includes a 30-day trial period and up to 6 simultaneous connections.

3. Surfshark

Surfshark is the best of the budget VPNs for streaming sports, offering fast speeds, a broad server network, and reliable unblocking capabilities for less! It is a popular option for large households, since subscribers can connect unlimited devices on a single account.

Features: This low-cost VPN doesn’t hold back when it comes to features offering perks like ad blocking, tracker blocking, malware protection, split tunneling, a camouflage mode, and more! Plus, Surfshark doesn‘t limit your bandwidth at all!

Speed: When we connected to a New York server using Surfshark VPN, we retained 83% of our baseline speed, which isn’t quite as fast as Express and Nord but is still more than enough speed for streaming your favorite sports.

Privacy and security: Your privacy and online connection are fully secured with Surfshark’s military-grade encryption, automatic kill switch, RAM-only servers, DNS & IP leak protection, no-logs policy, and more.

Performance: You may experience rare instances of buffering while using Surfshark, especially during peak use hours or when streaming in HD, but if that happens just ask the 24/7 live chat support to direct you to a faster available server and the issue should be resolved.

Streaming: You don’t need to pay a lot to access all of your favorite live sports streaming sites. Surfshark has a proven ability to bypass tough geo-blocks like those used by ESPN+, BBC iPlayer, NBC Sports, Sling TV, and more! There are over 3,200 servers in more than 100 countries in their server network, so you can access content from all over!

Compatibility: The Surfshark apps are intuitive and work with all common systems including macOS, iOS, Windows, Android, and Linux. You can use it with all of your household devices including laptops, desktops, smart TVs, routers, mobile devices, and gaming consoles.

Pricing: You can get the 2-year starter package for $2.29/month. It allows for unlimited simultaneous devices and includes a 30-day money-back guarantee and 2 months of free service.

4. CyberGhost

If you are looking for a great VPN for sports streaming that is easy to use, reliable, secure, customizable and doesn’t cost a lot, CyberGhost is the VPN for you! CyberGhost is so user-friendly, that it’s often ranked as the best VPN for beginners!

Features: CyberGhost offers streaming-optimized servers in addition to servers optimized for torrenting and gaming. It has dedicated IP addresses, RAM-only servers, split tunneling, and all the security features you need to stay safe online. There are no bandwidth limitations when you use CyberGhost.

Speed: When we connected to a US VPN server, CyberGhost maintained 74% of its baseline speed. It dropped to 59% when connected to a server in the UK and even further to 45% in Australia. While this is slower than our other recommended VPNs, CyberGhost still provides adequate speeds for most online activities, including streaming.

Privacy and security: The security features CyberGhost offers include a zero-logs policy, military-level encryption, DNS leak protection, RAM-only servers, a kill switch, and more! You can rest assured your internet traffic is protected!

Performance: While the speed on CyberGhost varies, especially on long-distance connections, its optimized servers still support good streaming, gaming, and torrenting. If you encounter any slowdowns, the 24/7 live chat support can direct you to a more efficient connection.

Streaming: CyberGhost has a strong track record for bypassing geo-blocks on popular live sports streaming services like ESPN+ NBC Sports, BBC iPlayer, Sling TV, and more. With its broad range of servers, including 9,600+ servers in 100 countries, you’ll have access to tons of sports online.

Compatibility: The apps for CyberGhost are user-friendly and compatible with Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS devices. You can set up the VPN to work with your laptop, mobile device, desktop, gaming consoles, smart TV, and router.

Pricing: The best deal on CyberGhost is the 24-month plan at $2.19/month plus 2 months free. Subscribers are allowed 7 simultaneous connections and have a 45-day trial period.

5. Atlas VPN

Atlas VPN doesn’t offer a lot of extras, but it is fast, secure, and can get the job done at a very low price. It includes unlimited simultaneous connections, which makes it an especially good deal for larger households.

Atlas VPN does offer a free version, but this review is for the subscription plan. The free version only offers 3 locations and has a 5GB monthly data cap, so it doesn’t have the necessary features for international sports streaming.

Features: While Atlas VPN doesn’t offer a ton of features, the ones it does offer are quite good and include split tunneling, a multi-hop mode, malware protection, a data beach monitor, and a tracker shield. Atlas VPN does not have any bandwidth limitations.

Speed: When it comes to speed, Atlas VPN is right up there with the premium plans. When we connected to a US server we retained 87% of our baseline speed, and for a UK server, the retention was 90%. While we were worried that there would be slowdowns due to overcrowding given the small number of servers, we did not find this to be an issue.

Privacy and security: Atlas VPN has all the necessary features to keep you safe online, including a no-logs policy, a kill switch, and AES 256-bit encryption. It also has encrypted data storage.

Performance: Atlas VPN is a dependable VPN for smooth sports streaming, gaming, and torrenting.

Streaming: Atlas VPN has proven its ability to bypass geo-restrictions used by live sports streaming services, so you can access ESPN+, NBC Sports, BBC iPlayer, Sky Sports, and more. It has a small network of 1000+ servers in 42 countries, but they are well distributed to give you board access to streaming sites around the world.

Compatibility: Atlas VPN allows unlimited simultaneous device connections and is compatible with Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, iOS, Android TV, and Firestick. It is easy to use with all common household devices, including computers, gaming devices, smart TVs, mobile devices, and more.

Pricing: This is the least expensive of our recommended VPNs, with packages starting at $1.70/month plus 6 months free when you sign up for the 3-year plan. Subscribers can connect unlimited devices on a single account, making it a great deal for large households. The 30-day money-back guarantee allows you to try it out risk-free.

How we picked and tested the best VPNs for streaming sports 

Only the best sports streaming VPNs can get past the tough geo-blocks on the most popular streaming services and provide you with a flawless viewing experience. Our team of experts tested VPNs in a number of categories, such as VPN connection speeds, unblocking capability, ease of use, compatibility, and more. Here’s what we were looking for in the best VPN for sports streaming:

• Server locations. We prioritized VPNs with a broad network of server locations all over the world so users can access the most popular streaming services from across the globe.
• Connection speed. We made sure that the VPN services we recommended offer a consistently fast connection speed so you won’t get any buffering or lags when you watch sports with a VPN.
• Geo-spoofing. The best VPN for accessing sports streaming websites will have a proven ability to unlock streaming sites worldwide.
• Device compatibility. We gave preference to easy-to-use apps with broad device compatibility that allow for multiple simultaneous connections.
• Customer service. All of the VPNs that made our list offer 24/7 live chat support and at least a 30-day money-back guarantee.
• Pricing. We took price into consideration and selected VPNs that offer a good value for the service provided.

What sports streaming channels can I unblock with a VPN?

You can access sports streaming sites from all over the world using a high-quality VPN for streaming sports, such as ExpressVPN!

Here are some of the most popular sports streaming platforms that you can enjoy with your VPN, but this list is by no means comprehensive! Once you’ve got a VPN, you can enjoy your favorite sports on all of the best sports streaming sites all over the world!

• BBC iPlayer. Fans of football, cricket, and sports documentaries can get their fill on BBC iPlayer, but if you are outside of the UK, you will need a VPN to access this sports streaming service.
• Sky Sports. UK residents can enjoy live streaming Premier League, Formula One, Cricket, or La Liga any time on Sky Sports, but don’t worry, if you are outside of the UK you can enjoy Sky Sports with a VPN no matter where you are!
• Fubo TV. Fubo TV is available in the US, Canada, and Spain and offers tons of sports streams including golf, MLB, MMA, NASCAR, NBA, NFL, tennis, and more. It’s easy to watch all your favorite sports on Fubo TV with one of the premium VPN services.
• BT Sport. Football, cricket, tennis, rugby, and more! The popular UK streaming service BT Sport has it all, and with a reliable VPN provider, you don’t have to live in the UK to watch!
• Peacock. This US-based streaming service is a great site for streaming live sports including Olympic programming, football, WWE, golf, horse racing, winter sports, and more! If you want to stream live sports on Peacock TV from outside of the US, you’ll need a good streaming VPN.

Can I use a free VPN to stream sports?

Free VPNs are not a reliable or secure way to watch sports with a VPN. A free VPN is more easily detected and therefore, free VPNs rarely get past the strong geo-blocks used by the most popular streaming sports sites.

If you get lucky and manage to get past the geo-blocks on a sports streaming service with one of the free VPNs, it’s likely that your free VPN limits data, speed, and/or bandwidth, which means you can expect to experience buffering, pixelation, or dropped connections while you are watching sports with your free VPN provider.

Keep in mind, that free VPNs need to make money somehow, which often involves the free VPN selling your personal data to the highest bidder, putting free VPN users at higher risk for cyber attacks. Plus a free VPN typically won’t provide the security and privacy protection that you get with a reliable VPN provider.

Instead of subscribing to one of the free VPNs, sign up for a trusted VPN you can afford. You can always cancel within the trial period, and it’s just like a free VPN!

FAQs

Conclusion

Fans of all sports, such as football, American football, basketball, hockey, MMA, golf, NASCAR, tennis, cricket, and more, can find limitless options for streaming sports content online.

While many of the streaming services for sports are restricted to specific countries, that doesn’t need to hold a true enthusiast back from accessing such streaming services!

With a premium VPN, you can unblock any streaming service you want and watch international sporting events without geographical restrictions holding you back.