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Best VPN for Netflix in the USA and UK 2026: NordVPN vs Surfshark

The best VPN for Netflix in 2026 is NordVPN, and it is not a close call on streaming alone. In one test of 14 streaming services, NordVPN unblocked all 14. Surfshark unblocked 13 of 14. Both unblocked Netflix in the US, the UK, and Canada. The difference is one service, and the price difference is $27 over 27 months. This page explains when that $27 is worth paying, and what to do when Netflix stops working, because it will, on either VPN.

First, a blunt fact that most VPN pages skip. Netflix licenses shows by country, so the catalogue you see in the US is not the catalogue you see in the UK. A VPN lets you watch the library of the country your server is in. Netflix knows this, and it blocks VPN servers all the time. A VPN that unblocks a library today can lose it next month when Netflix updates its blocklist. That is not a fault in your VPN. It is the game. The best VPN for Netflix is the one that keeps up with that game, and that means having a lot of servers to switch between, and fixing blocked servers quickly.

Check the price at checkout. All prices here are introductory Black Friday prices for the first term, before tax. NordVPN Basic is $3.49 a month, $94.23 for 27 months, dropping to $2.99 a month from 24 November to 1 December. Surfshark One is $2.49 a month, $67.23 for 27 months. Both offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

What the independent tests actually found

Three sets of 2026 tests are worth knowing about, because they tested the same thing in different ways. TechRadar, which tests VPNs with Netflix regularly, ranks NordVPN first for Netflix and Surfshark second, as the best cheap Netflix VPN. It tested NordVPN at over 1,250 Mbps, and Surfshark at over 1,000 Mbps, both far faster than 4K needs. It also found both worked with Netflix in the US, the UK, Canada, and Australia, while Surfshark also worked in Japan and NordVPN did not in that particular test.

Gizmodo tested 14 streaming services with cookies and cache cleared, so the test was fair. NordVPN unblocked all 14, including Netflix in the US, Canada, and Japan, Prime Video, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, ITVX, and JioHotstar. Surfshark unblocked 13 of 14, missing only ITVX. Its UK server was the fastest single result in the test, and its average speed loss was 9.6%, against 7.8% for NordVPN. So Surfshark is fast, and NordVPN is slightly faster and slightly more reliable.

A third ranking, from CyberInsider’s 2026 testing, named NordVPN the top pick for unblocking, reporting it worked across the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Australia, and India Netflix libraries, plus Disney+ and BBC iPlayer, at 755 Mbps on a Seattle server. Surfshark was its budget pick, with unblocking reported for at least 20 Netflix libraries, including the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, and Japan.

Put together, the picture is consistent. NordVPN is the most reliable Netflix VPN. Surfshark is close behind, cheaper, and better for a household. If you watch one service all the time and that service is ITVX, buy NordVPN. If you watch Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, or BBC iPlayer, both work, and Surfshark saves you $27.

Speed: how fast is fast enough for Netflix?

Netflix needs about 25 Mbps for 4K. Both VPNs are far faster than that on a decent home connection. NordVPN’s average speed loss in one test was 7.8%. Surfshark’s was 9.6%. On a 200 Mbps connection, that is the difference between about 184 Mbps and about 181 Mbps, which you will never notice while watching a show. On a slow hotel connection, both will feel slow, and the VPN is not the problem. The hotel Wi-Fi is.

What matters more than raw speed is consistency. A VPN that is fast on Monday and slow on Friday is worse than a VPN that is steady all week. That is where server choice matters. Both VPNs let you pick a server, and both pick the fastest one for you by default. If a show buffers, try another server in the same country before you blame the VPN. A busy server is the most common cause of slow streaming, and switching takes ten seconds.

US Netflix vs UK Netflix: what changes?

The US library is the biggest, by a wide margin. The UK library is smaller but has British dramas, films, and classics that the US library does not. Canada has its own mix, and Japan has shows and films that are hard to find anywhere else. A VPN lets you switch between those libraries by changing your server country. That is the whole point for most people reading this page.

There is one catch. Netflix’s own help pages say that if you use a VPN, you may only see titles that Netflix licenses globally, and you may see a proxy error when Netflix detects VPN traffic. That error, code m7111-5059, is the grey screen that tells you Netflix thinks you are using a proxy. It does not mean your account is in trouble. It means that specific server is blocked, and you need to switch servers. Do not panic, and do not cancel your VPN because of one error. Switch servers, clear your cookies, and try again.

What to do when Netflix stops working

This is the section most deal pages do not write, and it is the one you will actually need. Netflix blocks VPN servers regularly, so a server that worked last week can stop working this week. Here is what to do, in order.

First, switch to another server in the same country. Both apps make this easy. Pick a different city if you can, because a different city usually means a different set of IP addresses, and Netflix may not have blocked those yet.

Second, clear your browser cookies and cache, then try again. Netflix sometimes remembers the last server you used, even after you switch. Clearing cookies fixes that more often than people expect.

Third, try a different device or a different browser. If Netflix works on your phone but not on your laptop, the problem is the laptop’s browser, not the VPN.

Fourth, check whether the show is actually available in that country’s library. Sometimes the show has moved, or the library has changed, and no VPN will bring it back. A quick search for the show plus the country name will tell you.

If none of that works, wait a day and try again. VPN providers fix blocked servers constantly, and a server that is blocked today is often working again tomorrow. If it still does not work after a few days, use the 30-day money-back guarantee and try the other VPN. That is what the guarantee is for.

Which one should you buy for Netflix?

Buy NordVPN if Netflix is the main reason you are buying a VPN, and you want the most reliable unblocking, the fastest speeds, and the biggest server network to switch between. Buy it in Black Friday week if you can wait, because $80.73 is better than $94.23 for the same 27 months. Buy Surfshark if you watch Netflix on a lot of devices, or you want the lowest price, and you are happy with 13 out of 14 services instead of 14 out of 14. For most households, Surfshark is the right answer, and the $27 you save buys a month of Netflix itself.

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