The introduction of age verification measures in the UK has seen an explosion in VPN use across the British Isles. That's because a VPN can mask your IP address, hide your real location, and allow you to connect to the internet content from a variety of locations around the globe.
A VPN also allows UK citizens travelling abroad to access all kinds of UK content which would otherwise be blocked, including streaming sites like ITVX and BBC iPlayer. That means access to top TV shows such as Traitors and Code of Silence, as well as free sports events such as The FA Cup and Six Nations Rugby.
Top three best UK VPNs at glance
The best UK VPNs in 2025
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Let's take a deeper look at the best VPN apps in the UK.
The best overall UK VPN
We rate NordVPN as the best VPN for any situation, and that includes the best VPN for customers in the UK and anyone overseas looking to access UK content.
It has a good network of servers in the UK, consistently high speeds, and an excellent track record of unblocking UK streaming services when trying to watch UK TV shows from abroad.
Plus, with tailored pricing plans, you don't pay extra for features you don't need.
UK server network
NordVPN has over 440 servers available to users in the UK or anyone trying to access a UK IP address. They're spread across 4 different UK server locations: Glasgow, Manchester, Edinburgh, and London.
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Each location offers servers optimised for P2P traffic and watching video streams, as well as regular internet traffic use. You can also get a NordVPN dedicated IP address for any of them, although this service does cost extra.
All of the UK server locations are also ready for NordVPN's top privacy features, including the multi-hop Double VPN system and obfuscated servers and protocols to ensure that your VPN traffic doesn't get recognised and blocked.
UK streaming service unblocking
NordVPN was able to unblock all of the regular free-to-air UK streaming services from abroad in our tests. That's great news for UK nationals heading overseas who are looking to tune into their TV shows as usual.
While some VPN features from other brands struggle with the adverts on the likes of ITVX and Channel 4, NordVPN ran clean streams of both of these, first time, as well as BBC iPlayer.
We did not experience any buffering in our tests nor any kind of degradation of the quality of the stream, even at 4K resolution.
Other features
NordVPN is one of the fastest VPN services around. We achieved peak speeds of over 950 Mbps when running our tests on its UK servers in multiple locations. That's easily enough for most uses, including gaming, streaming, and torrenting too.
It comes with an ad-blocker and a malicious website blocker, even on the £2.39 per month Basic plan. Upgrade to the NordVPN Plus (£3.09 per month) for anti-malware and a boost to your web browsing protection, which includes stopping fraudulent websites too.
There's also access to the NordPass password manager. To add cyber insurance up to a value of £5000, you'll need the Ultimate plan, which comes in at £4.99 per month.
The best UK VPN for beginners
ExpressVPN may not hold the top spot anymore, but it's a more-than-capable VPN service that makes streaming British shows a breeze. With its one-click connection, it automates all the configurations most other services would have you do manually, giving you a reliable connection you can stake your life on.
In terms of security features, Express boasts industry-standard 256-bit encryption, along with its very own Lightway protocol (which comes with post-quantum protection), and a ton of strong options like its ultra-reliable kill switch and Threat Manager DNS blocker. You also get split tunneling, which allows you to choose which programs utilize the VPN and which don't at any one time. We usually use split tunneling to prevent Android Auto from running through the VPN and make sure maps and music still work as needed.
► Try ExpressVPN with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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UK server network
ExpressVPN has the largest number of UK server locations on our list, with five in total, but the spread of those locations across the country is not very generous. With East London, London, Tottenham, Wembley, Docklands, Midlands, that's five based in London and then the only other one is just 118 miles away in Birmingham.
That's fine if you live in the South-East of the country, but folks in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and even in the north of England will need their internet traffic to cover a fair bit of ground before arriving at a nearby server.
If a fast, continuous connection is important – if you're using a VPN for torrenting, for example – then that extra distance could be something to make you think twice.
UK streaming service unblocking
ExpressVPN offers UK subscribers peak speeds of 898 Mbps. That may be a little less than the top speeds of NordVPN and Proton VPN, but it's still more than enough to cover any 4K streams from BBC iPlayer and other UK services that support them.
What's more, ExpressVPN has a little performance treat up its sleeve for Windows users. Lightway Turbo is ExpressVPN's fastest protocol, but it's only available on the Windows app for the time being.
So, there's a strong case for ExpressVPN to be higher up this list for those predominantly planning on using a VPN with a Windows machine.
Regardless of speeds, we did find that trying to access BBC iPlayer with ExpressVPN was a bit hit-and-miss. The service spotted that we were using a VPN from time to time with Lightway, and it took changing servers or trying a different protocol to get through.
That's neither convenient nor very inclusive for beginner VPN users looking to access BBC TV shows while abroad. Thankfully, we never encountered any blocking issues with ITVX, Channel 5, and other UK streamers, although there were definitely more moments of buffering than we found with either NordVPN or Proton VPN.
Other features
ExpressVPN has a new price tier system as of 2 September 2025 that has brought the price of its Basic plan more in line with competition, but UK VPN seekers might want to check the details before reaching for the cheapest option.
If you go for the Advanced plan ($1 per month more than Basic), then you get ExpressVPN's Advanced Protection system – an app for blocking ads, trackers, and malicious websites – as well as, crucially, a 50% discount on the Aircove Wi-Fi router.
Getting a VPN on a router is not a simple undertaking for most, so getting one with ExpressVPN already installed on it makes like a lot easier, and it means you can stream VPN content on TVs and other devices without having to get ExpressVPN on them all, which can be a tricky task.
There are also 3 days per month of eSIM use on your mobile phone, which could be very helpful wherever you travel – particularly as UK users no longer get to enjoy those EU roaming rates.
The best private UK VPN service
Switzerland-based company ProtonVPN isn’t messing around when it comes to your privacy, with the company’s mission statement being that “we believe a better world starts with privacy and digital freedom.”
ProtonVPN is explicitly designed for this purpose, with many of its features offering high levels of anonymity when accessing the online world – and that's a big consideration for any Brits looking to use a VPN from abroad, and certainly in countries with a bad reputation for censorship laws and surveilling internet traffic.
Don't be fooled into thinking that Proton is all serious and no play, though. There's performance and streaming in abundance and plenty of P2P potential too.
UK server network
Proton VPN has the geographical spread of servers around the UK, with a location in every regional capital (Cardiff, London, Edinburgh, and Belfast), along with Manchester, pretty much smack in the middle of the British Isles. That should make for an optimal performance wherever you live in the country.
Read more about Proton VPN
Network speeds are excellent, too. We recorded an average download speed of 950 Mbps using WireGuard. That puts Proton VPN among the fastest VPNs we've tested, which, again, is great for its UK VPN performance.
All five of Proton's UK VPN locations have servers optimised for both P2P use and streaming. That ensures increased upload and download speeds for file sharing and, of course, no activity logs or any IP address visibility to your ISP or peers.
There's also access from the UK to the internet at large via Proton's SecureCore servers in Switzerland, Iceland, and Sweden. This is a multi-hop connection that offers increased protection from snooping at the expense of higher latency and slower speeds. Still, it's well worth the sacrifice for times when a private connection to the internet is of paramount importance.
UK streaming service unblocking
Proton VPN sits a fraction behind NordVPN and ExpressVPN when it comes to unblocking UK streaming services. It passed with flying colours when it came to streaming BBC iPlayer and ITV from abroad, but Channel 4 took a little more patience.
Proton's VPN Accelerator function seems to help here, too. Yes, it promises to supercharge speeds, but it was the connection stability that we noticed when streaming through iPlayer in particular. ExpressVPN can drop the stream from time to time, but neither NordVPN nor Proton VPN suffered the same problem, and that makes for a far better streaming experience in our books.
Other features
It's the extra mile of privacy and anonymity that we like about Proton VPN, and why you might want to consider it above others.
Its Stealth VPN protocol is expressly designed to evade censorship, while the service’s Tor servers ensure its users' anonymity. Plus, if staying private is key for you, Proton lets you pay anonymously via Bitcoin or cash, so your identity can stay hidden.
At the same time, Proton VPN's apps are open-source, but it offers a great free VPN plan for those looking to dip their toes — you'll still need to upgrade to a paid plan to enjoy streaming service unblocking and P2P customized servers, though.
Other UK VPNs we've tested and recommend
Surfshark isn't quite as stellar as the VPNs higher up on this list when it comes to unblocking streaming services, but it does have some advantages that UK customers will enjoy.
The first key advantage is its very low price, which starts at £1.49 per month, around £24.30 less over a two-year contract than NordVPN, for example.
The second is that it comes with unlimited device connections, meaning that you can put your Surfshark account on as many different bits of hardware as you like. That makes it perfect for password-sharing families that don't want to pay more than they have to.
Lastly, it's one of the fastest VPNs around, so, network capacity notwithstanding, it offers a speedy online service.
UK server network
Like NordVPN, Surfshark has an excellent spread of server locations in the UK, covering London, the north of England, and the major cities of Scotland, too. That meant that our internet connection was only ever a short distance away, no matter where you are in the country.
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Four server locations put it somewhere near the top of our list, but middle of the pack for actual server numbers. Surfshark assures us that it runs at a capacity of 10 Gbps at all times.
UK streaming service unblocking
Surfshark can be tricky when it comes to smooth streaming of the UK services. It never had a problem with iPlayer in our tests, but we did come a cropper with ITV and Channel 4 when we tried them.
That's because these are both free-to-air channels which rely on streaming adverts before and during the TV shows, and Surfshark's ad-blocker didn't play nice with them. We had to turn off the CleanWeb tool; otherwise, we'd get a message saying that our access was blocked.
Channel 5 and Sky Go are not currently part of our tests, but you'll likely need to do the same thing with those to make sure you can stream them with Surfshark wherever you go.
Other features
Surfshark is one of the few VPNs that has a fully-fledged antivirus built in, along with malware, phishing, and ad-blockers that most bundle in. While it's not quite as effective as the best dedicated AVs, it certainly does a job and might be enough if a little peace of mind is all you need.
You'll need to choose the Surfshark One plan, but it's only around £10 more over a 2-year term.
Surfshark's cookie blocker and Alternative ID systems come as standard with the cheaper Starter plan. The former is a pretty good way of staving off some of those GDPR cookie requests. The latter works as a temporary email system to stop your main addresses from getting spammed.
CyberGhost's apps are less intuitive than others on this list, and it requires some extra time to familiarise yourself with how it works, but if you’re willing to invest some time exploring this relatively inexpensive service, you’ll find it pays off. It's a highly customizable VPN that's a good choice for UK use
Along with Surfshark, CyberGhost is one of the cheapest VPN providers you'll find, with prices for the 2-year term consistently hovering around £2 a month.
Do be warned, though: the CyberGhost support site isn't as on-point as the others on this page. The answers are there, but it's not the easiest to search. First-time VPN users might want to try a different product instead.
UK server network
CyberGhost has 814 servers in the UK alone, spread across three cities (Berkshire, London, and Manchester). This means you can keep your browsing local without the fear of experiencing any network congestion.
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CyberGhost’s servers are split into three lists on the apps. Those looking for increased anonymity are well served by a range of “No Spy Servers,” run entirely in-house from the company’s Romanian headquarters, where there are robust privacy laws and good protection from third-party interference.
While they're accessible from the UK, of course, they're not local, so don't expect the same level of performance as if they were on your doorstep.
The other two categories are “For Streaming” and “For Torrenting” and these are fine-tuned to ensure to reduce lag and ensure a faster, more responsive experience, whether you're looking to stream sports in the UK or share large files.
We especially love its Smart Rules panel, which allows users to automatically connect to their preferred server every time.
UK streaming service unblocking
Unsurprisingly, we got the best streaming service experience when using CyberGhost's 'For Streaming' servers, and there are 9 of these in the UK to access.
Some of these servers are fine-tuned to be uniquely compatible with specific streaming services and for use with specific UK (and many global) services: Channel 4, ITV, and NOW being a few of them.
During testing, these servers worked well the majority of the time, but there were occasional roadblocks. On the iOS app, BBC iPlayer repeatedly prevented us from connecting to the site, despite the fact that we were using CyberGhost’s specially optimized iPlayer server.
This is the only service on the list that gave us any trouble with iPlayer. Given that it's the most popular UK streaming service, with arguably the best content, it is a considerable gap in CyberGhost's offering.
If unblocking iPlayer is a prime use case for you, then you should probably use a different UK VPN, particularly if you're an iPhone user.
Other features
CyberGhost isn't as feature-rich as other VPNs on this list, but you still get the likes of split tunnelling and an automatic kill switch, even if the latter of those isn't as configurable as we'd like.
Equally, there is an ad and malware blocker, but it's not in the same league as the likes of NordVPN and Surfshark.
Still, it's hard to complain when the price is so low. A two-year subscription to CyberGhost costs less than £60. The trouble is that Surfshark is cheaper still and, frankly, a better VPN for the UK, and most other places in the world.
How to choose the best UK VPN
Well, despite this, very much depending on your own needs, there are a few key characteristics and features you should look out for in your UK VPN in any case.
Security should certainly be the main priority of any VPN. In terms of encryption protocol, look for software including WireGuard as it's the most secure and fastest right now, but bear in mind that OpenVPN is still a good option. A reliable kill switch is another security feature you should look out for, as it helps to prevent any leaks when the connection drops.
Choosing a service with a strict no-logging privacy policy is also very important—even better if that's independently audited regularly. This means that the provider never retains any identifying information about you, so even if governments request your data, it won't have any sensitive details about your sessions to share.
Connection speed is important, especially if you want to use a VPN for streaming, online gaming, or torrenting. The fastest VPNs in our list reached staggering peaks of over 950 Mbps during our last round of testing. Though services with a top speed of only 410 Mbps, like ExpressVPN, are still good enough to support TV streaming.
The number of servers and server locations is another relevant factor to consider. More options mean a better chance of getting a fast and reliable connection. VPN apps should be straightforward and user-friendly, too, and the number of simultaneous connections supported might be another crucial factor for users looking to secure all family devices.
Best UK VPN FAQs
Will the UK ban VPNs?
There are no plans to ban VPNs outright. However, following the introduction of age verification measures in July to prevent children from viewing adult content online, and the consequent surge in VPN usage, its use could undergo some reform.
However, the responsibility is more likely to lie with websites hosting inappropriate material rather than VPN providers. Cybersecurity expert Ilia Kolochenko noted that “We will probably see additional legislation pretty soon that will require adult-oriented websites to ban VPN traffic […] some VPNs will remain undetected, but about 90% of the most popular free and commercial VPN services can be fingerprinted – and will likely be blocked by adult-content providers.”
Is the BBC blocking VPNs?
The BBC has advanced detection measures that attempt to recognise and block VPN IP addresses, preventing viewers in other countries from viewing material specifically licensed to the UK. If you see a message saying “Sorry, BBC iPlayer isn’t available in your region,” they’ve probably sussed you’re using a VPN.
Is it worth getting a VPN in the UK?
There are a number of benefits to using a VPN in the UK. These included enhanced privacy, the ability to access public Wi-Fi networks securely, and masking your IP address to prevent advertisers and third parties from tracking your online activity. They’re also an effective way of viewing geo-restricted content, no matter where in the world you currently are.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
