Best VPN for Streaming Sports in 2024

Live-streaming sports is one of the most common uses of a VPN. With so many channels and platforms under geo-restrictions, it’s no wonder people turn to the best VPNs for streaming sports in 2024. But how can this security-oriented tool help you?

Well, if you know something about it, you know its ability to change your online location. In return, you gain access to geo-restricted channels and platforms where you can stream various sports events. This is how many watch the French Open tennis without restrictions.

Aside from that, the best VPN for sports also prevents bandwidth throttling. This ensures you’re getting full internet speed that you can use to stream even in 4K. Not many VPNs are capable of this, however. And today, our task is to present to you those that are.

As always, our team did thorough research for this article. We tested at least 30 providers and came up with the top 5 that are REALLY the best VPNs for sports streaming in 2024. Wondering which services we’re talking about? Keep reading – what are you waiting for?!

Best VPN for Sports Streaming in 2024: Our Top 5 Services

When talking about a VPN to stream sports, we need to take into account a few things. First, we want a provider with no traffic limits and great speeds. Also, we want thousands of worldwide servers and top-notch unblocking capabilities to access as many sites/platforms as possible.

Not to mention other nitpicks like security, privacy, simultaneous connections… We’ll discuss it in a few minutes but not before we talk about the top 5 VPN providers for watching sports online in 2024. They’re below, so scroll down a bit to find out more.

1. ExpressVPN

This one is for you if you’re looking for unrelenting performance and blazing-fast speeds. ExpressVPN is the best VPN for streaming sports live in 2024. Its unlimited traffic coupled with servers in 160 locations make this provider a sight for sore eyes.

ExpressVPN’s streaming capabilities are impeccable. Its Lightway protocol ensures excellent speeds, all while it can unblock BBC iPlayer, RTS, ESPN, and other sports channels anywhere. Even MediaStreamer is here, a feature based on SmartDNS, which lets you stream sports on ANY device – even gaming consoles.

Furthermore, ExpressVPN works on all devices. You can use its native app on Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, macOS, and others. This makes it a capable VPN that you can use to watch sports live. Do you love watching MotoGP live and without interruptions? It has you covered!

ExpressVPN packs some serious “weaponry“ when talking about security/privacy. We’re talking about AES-256 encryption plus a kill switch, split tunnelling, and modern IPv6 leak prevention. ExpressVPN’s apps are identical across all platforms, so the ease of use is perfect.

In addition, ExpressVPN stores no logs. As a result, the VPN will keep you safe and secure when using it to watch sports. On iOS/Android, users can use its Threat Manager to block malicious sites, which is helpful in fending off potential malware and spyware.

With no special downsides, ExpressVPN is as close to perfection as possible. Its annual plan is our recommended deal, as it’s discounted by 49% and you get 3 free months. There’s a 30-day refund policy as well, so if you get it, you can be refunded in the first 30 days if you’re dissatisfied. Fair? Absolutely!

Stream All Sports With ExpressVPN

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2. CyberGhost

As the best VPN for streaming sports immediately after ExpressVPN, CyberGhost has plenty to offer. We can’t hide our appreciation for its 9,500+ servers in 91 countries, all of which are blazing-fast and stable. What’s more, CyberGhost values its sports enthusiasts by including streaming servers – fantastic!

They’re optimized for many platforms, such as BBC iPlayer, ESPN, Sling TV, 10Play, and dozens of others. Connecting to a server or your choice is all you need to watch sports live streams with this VPN. Thanks to unlimited bandwidth and the WireGuard protocol, you can expect buttery-smooth streaming.

In numerous tests we performed with it, 4K streaming was an easy feat, even on Netflix, which isn’t a sport-related platform. But even in this case, Netflix US will run smoothly if you’re into movies and series. Security-wise, CyberGhost is truly majestic.

Once connected to it, you can enjoy AES-256 encryption, IP leak protection, split tunnelling, and even a solid kill switch. Let’s not forget about its ad blocker, which comes in handy for destroying ads on sports platforms. Let’s be honest – they’re annoying as your favourite team losing an important game!

With CyberGhost, YOU won’t lose any games, though. It packs 7 simultaneous connections and offers a no-logs policy with an audit from Deloitte. Even better is the inclusion of SmartDNS, along with Private DNS to handle your DNS requests without the ISP’s interference.

Be aware that CyberGhost won’t work in China due to the lack of obfuscation. However, its users often enjoy F1 races live, along with torrenting, roaming the dark web, and even gaming! You can do so as well by snatching a special discount below with a 45-day money-back guarantee.

Watch Sports Online With CyberGhost

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3. NordVPN

Very few VPNs for sports streaming are astonishing as NordVPN. This Panamanian VPN provider comes with powerful security, robust apps, and 5,500+ servers in 60 countries. Its streaming capabilities are jaw-dropping, as it can unblock every sports channel under the Sun.

NordVPN comes with 10+ Gbps servers with full support for NordLynx. NordLynx is a proprietary VPN protocol based on WireGuard, which drastically improves speeds and performance. This is mandatory for 4K streaming and watching rugby, F1, MotoGP, football, soccer, or any other sports live.

As one of the top VPNs for streaming sports, NordVPN includes no traffic limits. On top of that, the VPN comes with P2P servers that you can use for torrenting. Let’s not forget about its obfuscated servers that allow you to fully enjoy the VPN in censored countries like China or Iran.

Speaking of censorship, users often enjoy Double VPN servers that double the level of encryption and add another layer of security. All of this makes streaming Wimbledon, the Giro d’Italia and other events like this safe, secure, and anonymous, especially with a no-logs policy that NordVPN proudly boasts.

Needless to say, NordVPN is user-friendly and offers its apps for all devices. You can use the VPN for sports streaming on iOS, Android, Windows, Linux, macOS, and even Apple TV if you want. To snag the cheapest deal on NordVPN, use the button below – it’s gonna save you plenty of money!

Watch Your Favorite Sports With NordVPN

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4. Surfshark

As we move on with the list of the best VPNs for sports streaming in 2024, we have Surfshark. It’s a good VPN to watch football or any other sport, thanks to 3,200 servers in 100 countries. Surfshark isn’t the hastiest provider but its speeds are more than enough for HD streaming using any server.

Let’s not forget about its unlimited simultaneous connections. This makes the provider valuable for people on a budget looking to watch football, tennis, or any other sport on any device at any given moment. Surfshark’s device support is nearly perfect.

It works on Fire TV stick, offering a nice, native app. Also, the provider has some neat features, such as the ability to spoof your location and access the Rugby World Cup live stream anywhere, plus MultiHop to double your encryption. Even this IP Rotator is here, rotating your IP periodically to ensure you can’t be tracked by your ISP.

Surfshark stores no-logs either, so if you’re privacy-aware, you’ll jump in excitement. Its 3,200 servers are torrent-friendly and the VPN can unblock any streaming platform. You’ll access Hulu + Live TV abroad or stream sports on Sling TV, Ziggo TV, and other popular channels anywhere.

Aside from that, Surfshark packs a kill switch, alas, not the most reliable one. On the other hand, there’s split tunnelling and an ad blocker, both of which can be pretty handy. The VPN lets you purchase a dedicated IP as well, and another bonus purchase is Surfshark One for added security.

For us, one of the biggest benefits of this VPN is the price. It’s seriously affordable when getting a 2-year plan. A 30-day refund policy is applied to ALL plans, too! As a result, you have 30 days to test Surfshark and see whether or not you like it. If not, get a refund and lose nothing – it’s so simple.

Stay in Touch With Sports Events With Surfshark

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5. Private Internet Access

Using a VPN to stream sports doesn’t have to cost you a lot. However, if you want a really cheap VPN for sports streaming, here’s Private Internet Access. This provider is a tad more affordable than other services on the list, so it’s hard to believe that it has 30,000 servers worldwide.

In addition, it’s pretty good at bypassing geo-blocks. Unblocking sports-streaming platforms will be easy, and you can fully enjoy the US Open, the Champions League, and other relevant sports events. PIA VPN includes a feature called MACE, which is frequently used to block ads. It works well, although not better than CyberGhost’s ad blocker.

Being so inexpensive, PIA isn’t the fastest but in our tests, it showed stable enough performance. Its main features are security-oriented. The provider includes IP/DNS protection, split tunnelling, an advanced kill switch, and even the SOCKS5 proxy which works flawlessly.

On Windows, its app is a bit clunky at times. However, this is countered with unlimited simultaneous connections, as well as awesome iOS/Android apps. Beware that PIA has no native client for Firestick, so if you’re using this platform, ExpressVPN is a lot better.

Security-wise, PIA fulfils all expectations. A no-logs policy is in place despite its US jurisdiction. This means the service keeps no logs of your online history. Another perk is that PIA is audited by Deloitte, which adds to its trustworthiness and overall reliability.

For a price so low, you’ll enjoy unlimited connections and traffic, good enough speeds to watch sports online, and a VPN that’s actually safe and secure.

More demanding users are better off with other VPNs and those on a budget can freely use this VPN to stream sports at a heavily discounted price available below.

Live-Stream Sports on All Devices With PIA

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What Makes the Best VPN for Streaming Sports?

Streaming sports isn’t a light activity. It consumes lots of bandwidth and requires a fast and stable VPN to work properly. For this reason, we took into account many factors when coming up with the aforementioned list. They include the following:

• Unlimited bandwidth. This is a MUST when talking about the best VPNs for streaming sports. You don’t want any traffic limits that’ll prevent you from enjoying the full US Open tennis tournament or the football world cup. Thus, VPNs with bandwidth limits are immediately eliminated from our list.
• Fast speeds. For HD streaming, you need a fast VPN. Otherwise, you’ll be annoyed by buffering and slowdowns that’ll ruin the experience and important moments. All the VPNs presented here are blazing-fast, with ExpressVPN topping the list of the quickest VPNs in 2024.
• Lots of servers. To effectively bypass geo-restrictions and unblock streaming platforms/channels across the planet, you need lots of server locations. All VPNs from this list offer from 60 to 100 countries to pick from, which is more than enough.
• Device compatibility. You’re most likely using a VPN to stream sports on your smartphone, laptop, or tablet, and not just a desktop computer. Well, our top 5 VPN services for watching sporting events ensure that you can do that easily, thanks to native apps for all operating systems. Oh, and Surfshark and PIA even offer unlimited connections, which is a pretty awesome addition!
• Security/privacy. While less important for this cause, privacy/security is still a relevant factor in a VPN. We won’t delve deeper but all of them have no-logs policies, bank-grade encryption, and other cutting-edge features you’ve come to expect. So yeah, your privacy will be intact.ž
• Cheap prices. We ensured all the VPNs listed are affordable. They’re way cheaper than typical sports channel subscriptions, allowing you to enjoy live streams with more money in your bank account. With 30 and 45-day refund policies, you can also get a refund at any moment – don’t forget about that!

Best Free VPN for Live Sports Streaming: Why They Don’t Work?

One thing we need to address has to do with using free VPNs for live sports streaming. This is a common practice that often isn’t giving any results. Free VPNs and streaming often don’t mix together well. They’re like Mentos and Coca-Cola – try mixing them up and you’ll end up showered quickly.

Here are the reasons why using free VPNs for streaming sports won’t give any results in 2024.

Limited Traffic and/or Slow Speeds

The biggest red flag of free VPNs is limited bandwidth. Oh boy – just try watching sports live with 2 to 10 GB of traffic each month and you’ll see just how awful it is. A single football match can consume more than 1 GB of bandwdith if we’re talking about HD footage.

Plus, if you’re using the VPN for other purposes, the entire bandwdith allowance can evaporate in a day or two. ProtonVPN is a free VPN with unlimited bandwidth but it’s pretty slow and offers servers only in Japan, the US, and the Netherlands.

Thus, it’s also not going to be capable of unblocking sports-streaming channels and platforms.

Small Server Network

Free VPNs have no money to maintain a big server fleet. This results in just a few available server locations that often aren’t enough to unblock the platform you want. These servers are often overcrowded because of their small number.

Once again, this produces vastly slower speeds, on top of which, it prevents you from fully enjoying streaming. Compare this to ExpressVPN’s 3,000 servers in 160 locations and you’ll see how underwhelming free VPNs are.

No Simultaneous Connections

To make things worse, free providers don’t include simultaneous connections. You can, therefore, use a VPN to stream sports only on ONE device at a time – a real nightmare! This applies even to free services like ProtonVPN, Atlas VPN, or PrivadoVPN, all of which are safe and secure.

Security and Privacy Issues

While these 3 are safe, most free VPNs aren’t. They store logs and sell your private data to earn revenue since they don’t make money from subscriptions. Examples like these are all around us – from Hola VPN and Urban VPN to Hotspot Shield and Turbo VPN!

Aside from that, many fail to even encrypt your connection properly, allowing hackers and snoopers to still track your online activities. And let’s also mention the practice of secretly installing malware and viruses on your device, which can mine crypto and utilize keyloggers to steal your passwords.

Which Sports-Streaming Sites Can I Unblock With a VPN?

If you’re using the best VPN for live sports streaming from our list, the possibilities are truly endless. It’s only a matter of which sports you’re interested in and whether you’re looking for a free channel. For your info, we recently mentioned free channels for watching Tour de France live in a separate article.

This time, we’ll go through both free and paid channels that you can unblock with the VPNs from our list. Keep in mind that we mentioned our favourite sports-streaming sites – not all of them. In that case, the list would be longer than this article.

• BBC iPlayer. A free UK-based website where you can watch football, cricket, sports-related shows, and various documentaries. It’s available in the UK, and if you’re abroad, you can use a VPN to unblock and watch BBC iPlayer.
• Sky Sports. It is one of the most versatile options for watching sports in 2024. You can find rugby, tennis, football, NFL, F1, motorsport, basketball, and plenty of other sports here. It’s not free – it requires a subscription – and it’s available in Ireland and the UK.
• fuboTV. The site is available in Spain, Canada, and the U.S., offering a wide array of sports, including MMA, NFL, MLB, NBA, tennis, golf, NASCAR, boxing, and more. Speaking of the NFL, we have an article explaining how to watch out-of-market NFL games. That said, similar to Sky Sports, it isn’t free either, so be sure to check the pricing on the site.
• RTBF. A Belgian TV channel that lets you stream mostly MotoGP and F1 for free, only with an account. It’s available in Belgium only, but with a VPN, you can unblock it, create an account (for free), and enjoy it limitlessly anywhere.
• ESPN+. This is a US channel for streaming UFC, AO tennis (and many other tournaments), baseball, hockey, and plenty of other sports. We’re talking about a paid channel which isn’t the cheapest but offers incredible video quality with English commentary.
• Sling TV. A site from the US where you can watch college football, soccer, MLB, and other sports. Its affordable price of $20 or more a month is pretty enticing for users on a budget. It can be even more expensive by purchasing bonus add-ons that can expand your horizons and let you stream even more sports.

How to Use a VPN to Stream Sports

The greatest thing about VPNs is that they’re really simple to use. You don’t need to be a tech enthusiast to connect to a server and go online. That’s exactly how to use a VPN to stream sports. Follow the steps below to see how to do it in merely a few minutes.

• Subscribe to a VPN from our list. Use ExpressVPN’s 49% discount and 3 free months for the annual plan or select another provider.
• Install the VPN app on your device. You can do it on any platform, be it your desktop PC, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
• Open the VPN app and sign in with the credentials you provided during the subscription process.
• Connect to a VPN server in the country where the streaming platform you want to unblock is available. For example, if you want to watch ESPN, you will need to connect to an American server.
• Once the connection is in place, go to the platform you wanted to access and enjoy using a VPN for live sports streaming.

Conclusion

When talking about streaming sports, you should know this is quite a broad topic. Using a VPN to stream sports is, however, still required, as there’s no single site for streaming ALL types of sports. While you’ll find F1 races on RTBF, football can mostly be accessed on BBC iPlayer, and so on.

For this reason, it’s important to use a VPN to change your online location and access the platforms you want. Coupled with unlimited bandwidth, fast speeds, and rock-solid security, each provider from this list will undoubtedly provide a premium experience worth paying for.

Try ExpressVPN Risk-Free

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FAQ

Let’s, in the end, delve deeper into a few more questions we haven’t addressed so far.

Can you use a VPN to watch football?

Absolutely! You can use this service to unblock streaming platforms where you can access football matches live. Many sites will allow you to watch this sport, such as BBC iPlayer, ITV, fuboTV, Sky Sports, and dozens of others.

Is it illegal to use a VPN to watch sports?

No, it’s legal to use a VPN for sports. Some sites will forbid using IP-altering software i.e. VPNs to access them. But in reality, it’s not against the law and you can’t be fined or put in jail for using this service. The worst that can happen is that your account is banned.

Once again, in practice, this is very rare and millions of people use a VPN for sports without a single issue.

Can I use a VPN for sports for gambling?

Yes, you actually can. Using a VPN for gambling is pretty common among people who watch sports. After all, sports and gambling go together well, unlike free VPNs and sports streaming. With ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, and others you can freely unblock any gambling/betting site and place bets.