To determine the best VPN for Firestick, we tried out the following key factors:
- Speed: Since Amazon’s Fire TV Stick is mainly designed to stream content, speed is the most important factor we pay attention to.
- Amazon Fire TV Stick compatibility: Besides speed, we also pay careful attention to a device’s support for Firestick. Unlike Chromecast devices, that do not allow installing a VPN on your device, it is still possible to install a VPN on Firestick. For this reason, we give preference to VPNs that have a native Firestick VPN app.
- Servers and locations: Obviously, many are interested in a VPN for Firestick to access geo-restricted content that wouldn’t ordinarily be available in their location. For this reason, the more servers and locations a VPN offers, the better it is.
- Security: Due to Amazon’s history of turning over user data to law enforcement, our ranking is determined to a great extent by a VPN’s actual logging policy (not just what they say on their website).
Based on the above factors, here the VPNs we consider to be the best for Firestick:
1. NordVPN – Best Value & Biggest Server Park
Two VPNs stand out among our best VPN for Firestick: NordVPN and ExpressVPN.
NordVPN, however, easily takes the #1 spot. Speed is a very important consideration for a device like the Firestick, which is mainly used to stream content, and NordVPN is one of our fastest VPNs for Firestick. Our test reveals a download speed of 74.15 Mbps against a benchmark of 98 Mbps without a VPN — or a 24 percent drop, which isn’t bad when we compare results from other VPN providers.
NordVPN has the widest range of servers among all the VPNs on this list: a whopping 5,200+ servers in 62 locations. Access to that many servers, in a lot of different locations, ensures that bypassing any form of geo-restricted content is pretty much guaranteed.
We consider NordVPN’s privacy and security features even more impressive: their double encryption feature, which routes your connection through two different servers (equivalent to using a VPN on top of a VPN), stands out among VPN providers. This, and really strong AES 256-bit encryption ensures complete security. A strict no logs policy, and being based in Panama (a VPN-friendly jurisdiction), gives the assurance that no data on you can ever be turned over to a third-party.
You can setup NordVPN to work with Firestick through a native Firestick app that can be installed with one click or you can install NordVPN on your router and then connect your Firestick device to your router.
All these must cost an arm and a leg, right? Nah! NordVPN’s cheapest plan costs just $2.99 per month (less than half that of our next best option), and you can trial their service without paying a cent for 7 full days.
The facts:
- Speed test results: We had a connection speed of 98 Mbps without a VPN. While using NordVPN the speed was 74.15 Mbps. It’s only a 24% drop, which isn’t bad at all compared to some providers.
- Native Firestick app: Yes.
- Servers and locations: Over 5,200 servers in 62 locations.
- Logging policy: No logs.
- Cost: $2.99/mo
2. ExpressVPN – Fastest & Most Locations
While testing ExpressVPN, the first thing that caught our attention was its download speed of 83 Mbps, which is just a 15 percent drop compared to our benchmark speed without a VPN. This makes it the fastest VPN on this list as well as a very good option for streaming content.
The fact that ExpressVPN has more than 2,000 servers in 148 locations, which is more than every other provider on this list, also makes it very competitive. For comparison, the VPN with the most location on this list after ExpressVPN is Ivacy. It has about 100 locations, and its runner up, VyprVPN, has 70 locations.
Besides speed and server park, ExpressVPN boasts a strict no-logs policy that our independent investigations have shown to be true: in fact, when the Turkish government seized their servers in 2017, with hopes of finding logs to help in the arrest of a criminal who used ExpressVPN, they found nothing on the seized servers — because ExpressVPN truly keeps no logs.
What are your options when it comes to actually using ExpressVPN with Firestick, though? You have the easy option of using their native Firestick application that you can install very quickly. The second option is by setting up ExpressVPN on your router (either manually or by using an ExpressVPN app) and then connecting your Firestick device to your router.
While ExpressVPN doesn’t offer a free trial, its 30 days money-back guarantee allows you to get a full refund within the first 30 days of paying for the service.
The facts:
- Speed test results: We had a connection speed of 98 Mbps without a VPN. While using ExpressVPN the speed was 83.15 Mbps. It’s only a 15% drop, which makes it one of the fastest VPNs we’ve tested.
- Native Firestick app: Yes.
- Servers and locations: Over 2,000 servers in 148 locations.
- Logging policy: No logs.
- Cost: $6.67/mo
3. IPVanish
When we tested IPVanish for Firestick, one thing that quickly stood out is its speed: at 82 Mbps, it is our second fastest VPN for Firestick and a very good option for streaming content. It also offers really strong encryption (AES 256-bit) and boasts a no logging policy that makes us feel comfortable as far as security is concerned. It has fewer servers compared to our top two picks, but 1,100 servers in 60 countries is more than enough for the average Firestick user!
Setting up IPVanish with Firestick is quite easy: you can install IPVanish’s native Firestick app with one click, you can sideload IPVanish’s APK file on your Firestick device (using method #2 from our “How to Use a VPN With Firestick” section), or you can install IPVanish on your router and connect your Firestick device to it.
IPVanish is a bit on the high end in terms of cost and has no free trial, but you can take advantage of their 7-day money back guarantee if you do not like their service.
The facts:
- Speed test results: We had a connection speed of 98 Mbps without a VPN. While using IPVanish the speed was 82.67 Mbps. It’s only a 16% drop, also making IPVanish of the fastest VPNs we’ve tested.
- Native Firestick app: Yes.
- Servers and locations: Over 1,100 servers in over 60 countries.
- Logging policy: No logs.
- Cost: $6.49/mo.
4. Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access (PIA) has a lot going for it that makes it one of our best VPNs for Firestick: while we try not to use price alone as a factor for ranking a VPN service, there aren’t many VPN services that offer really impressive service at a measly rate. With its cheapest plan costing just $2.91 per month, the monthly cost of using PIA is less than that of the average cup of coffee.
Cheap doesn’t always equal quality, however. So, how does PIA stack up feature-wise? Our tests show PIA to be quite fast for Firestick and for streaming in general. With a speed of 81 Mbps, PIA managed to sneak into the “top 3” spot!
Unlike many other VPN providers, PIA also offers multiple levels of encryption — if you’re more concerned about speed than security, for example, you can use their “All Speed No Safety” encryption setting (with no data encryption or authentication and with the ECC-256k1 handshake). If you are more concerned about security than speed, however, you can use their “Maximum Protection” encryption setting (with AES-256 data encryption, SHA256 data authentication, and RSA-4096 handshake).
PIA also has quite a lot of servers: 3,180 servers in 52 locations, giving us a lot of options and flexibility for bypassing content restrictions.
What leaves us unimpressed, however, is the fact that PIA does not have a native Firestick app that you can install with one click. Instead, you need to sideload their APK file unto your Firestick device — while we share a method for doing this later in this article, we felt a native Firestick app is at least needed to be competitive. They also do not have a free trial.
The facts:
- Speed test results: We had a connection speed of 98 Mbps without a VPN. While using PIA the speed was 81.46 Mbps. It’s only a 17% drop, also putting PIA among the fastest VPNs we’ve tested.
- Native Firestick app: No.
- Servers and locations: 3,180 servers in 52 locations.
- Logging policy: No logs.
- Cost: $2.91/mo and up.
5. VyprVPN
VyprVPN is run by Golden Frog, a company that was established in response to NSA’s illegal surveillance of Americans in the Room 641a incident that began in 2003. This, as well as the fact that VyprVPN is located in Switzerland, a country with a very long history of fighting for user privacy, gives a level assurance about security expectations. VyprVPN does not disappoint; they use the ultra-secure AES-256-bit and the OpenVPN protocol as far as encryption is concerned, and they developed a proprietary technology, called Chameleon™, to protect against Deep Packet Inspection.
VyprVPN is also quite fast. At 74 Mbps, it is one of the fastest VPN services we have reviewed, and our speed test shows a really favorable experience when it comes to streaming content on Firestick. It is also quite easy to set VyprVPN up on your Firestick device through their native, one-click Firestick app. If you don’t want to go this route, VyprVPN can be installed on your router which your Firestick device then connects to.
While they only have 700 servers, they provide access to servers in 70 locations — which is quite generous in the VPN world. They also allow you to trial their service for 3 days if you so choose.
What we find to be the only downside to using this service is their logging policy — they keep logs such as the VyprVPN IP address used by the user, the connection start and stop time, and the total number of bytes used for a period of 30 days. While this would most likely not reveal anything about you, we’re very wary about any kind of logs being kept at all.
The facts:
- Speed test results: We had a connection speed of 98 Mbps without a VPN. While using VyprVPN the speed was 74.48 Mbps. It’s only a 24% drop, and isn’t bad compared to other providers.
- Native Firestick app: Yes.
- Servers and locations: Over 700 servers in more than 70 locations.
- Logging policy: Some logs.
- Cost: $4.98/mo and up.
6. Ivacy
Ivacy is more of an “average” VPN for Firestick, but it’ll get the job done: starting at $4.08 per month, it’s quite costly compared to NordVPN and is of inferior quality. However, the first thing Ivacy gets right is the fact that it makes it easy to use your Firestick device with its VPN; either through a native, one-click Firestick app or by connecting to a router that has Ivacy installed. It also offers really strong encryption (AES 256-bit and the OpenVPN protocol), and boasts a strict no logs policy we’ve found to be true.
Our tests show that Ivacy will work fine for streaming content on Firestick, although it is much slower compared to other VPN services at 53 Mbps (a 45 percent drop compared to not using a VPN), and you have a whole 7 days to test drive the service before paying anything.
We would shy away from giving Ivacy our full recommendation for two key reasons: 1) Our tests show that they don’t work with Netflix. VPNs that work well with Netflix generally have an advantage for Firestick, as many Firestick users are particular about being able to use Netflix on their device. 2) They are located in Singapore, a “Five Eyes” jurisdiction that we consider to be unfriendly for VPN services.
The facts:
- Speed test results: We had a connection speed of 98 Mbps without a VPN. While using Ivacy the speed was 53.04 Mbps. It’s a sharp 45% drop, and is one one the slowest options on this list.
- Native Firestick app: Yes.
- Servers and locations: Over 1,000 servers in more than 100 locations.
- Logging policy: No logs.
- Cost: $4.08/mo and up.
7. Windscribe
We would have loved to rank Windscribe higher because we find it to be quite impressive:
Unlike the other VPNs on this list, it has a permanently-free option limited to 10GB data transfer monthly and over a dozen server locations (which is still more than sufficient to see how it works with Firestick).
Windscribe uses the really strong AES 256-bit encryption and offers OpenVPN support (although it uses the IKEv2 protocol by default, so you might want to take note of that fact and make necessary changes before connecting). And it keeps no logs.
While Windscribe doesn’t have many servers (just 480), you have access to servers in 51 locations which is still good enough as far as VPNs are concerned.
In terms of actually using Windscribe with Firestick, you can install their native Firestick app (boom, one click!) or simply install Windscribe on your router and connect your Firestick device to your router.
However:
We are put off by the fact that Windscribe is the slowest of all the VPN providers on this list and also by the fact that it is located in Canada — a country we are very wary of due to it being a Five Eyes jurisdiction.
The facts:
- Speed test results: We had a connection speed of 98 Mbps without a VPN. While using Windscribe the speed was 42.97 Mbps. It’s a sharp 56% drop, and is by far the slowest of the providers on this list.
- Native Firestick app: Yes.
- Servers and locations: Over 480 servers in 51 countries.
- Logging policy: No logs.
- Cost: $3.70/mo and up.
How to Use a VPN With Firestick
There are several ways to use a VPN with Firestick. Most of these methods will take a minute or two. These steps assume that you have already chosen a VPN from the above list and have created an account with them:
Method 1: Install a VPN through the Amazon Fire TV App Store
- Step 1: Search for the name of your VPN in the Fire TV app store by selecting the search icon on your Firestick device. Example: “NordVPN” or “Ivacy”.
- Step 2: Select the VPN app that appears and download it (if nothing comes up, you can use the other methods listed after this).
- Step 3: Open the VPN app you just downloaded and sign in with your VPN login details.
- Step 4: Select your desired VPN location and connect.
Method 2: Download a VPN’s APK and Install on Firestick
This method involves five steps. It requires that your VPN service provider offer an APK file and will require you to use a third-party application called “Downloader”:
- Step 1: Using the search option in Firestick, search for the app called “Downloader.” Once found, install and open this app.
- Step 2: Locate the URL of the APK file offered by your VPN service provider and type it into the box provided by the “Downloader” app and start downloading it.
- Step 3: Once downloading of the VPN app is complete, install it by following the prompt OR go to the downloads section in the “Downloader” app to find and install it.
- Step 4: Because you did not install the app through the Firestick store, it won’t show up in the Apps menu.
To locate the newly-installed VPN app, go to Settings >> Applications >> Manage Installed Applications. You should find the app there and be able to launch it from there. - Step 5: Open the VPN app you just installed and login with your VPN login credentials.
- Step 6: Select the server of your choice, connect and you’re protected.
Method 3: Install Your VPN on Your Router
If method 1 or 2 isn’t an option with your VPN service provider, most VPN service providers support installing their VPN directly on your router.
Simply find the instruction on how to do this on your VPN service provider’s website, follow the instructions, and have your router automatically connect to the VPN network.
Once your router is connected, your Firestick device is automatically covered whenever you connect to the Internet through your router.
Conclusion
Impressive download speeds, a native Firestick app, a large server park, strict zero logs policy, and the fact that you can trial it for 7 days makes NordVPN the best VPN for Firestick in our book.
Even if you decide not to go with NordVPN, the other six VPN services on this list are really good alternatives for Firestick and all Amazon Fire TV devices.