Published on: August 27, 2024 Updated 2 times since publishing
- 🥇 ExpressVPN : It has servers in many countries where Spotify’s most diverse libraries are available, including the US, the UK, Brazil, and Germany, and countries where the subscription is generally cheaper, like Argentina. Plus, it reliably bypasses restrictions on networks that block Spotify, like at work or school. Its plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee for first-time users.
After lots of testing, I found the top VPNs to access Spotify’s different libraries. The VPNs I recommend here have servers in locations where Spotify is available and offers cheaper prices, and most also work on networks that block access to Spotify, including at school. Plus, all of these VPNs offer super-fast speeds for uninterrupted Spotify time.
ExpressVPN is my top choice, as it works with Spotify 100% of the time, offers a large server network, comes with a very intuitive obfuscation feature, includes useful extras that improve your Spotify experience, and maintains the fastest speeds for Spotify. Editor's Note: ExpressVPN and this site are in the same ownership group.
Quick Summary of the Best VPNs for Spotify
Editor's Note: Intego, Private Internet Access, CyberGhost and ExpressVPN are owned by Kape Technologies, our parent company
🥇1. ExpressVPN — Best Overall VPN for Streaming Spotify
Basic 12-Months plan: $3.99 / month
1-month plan: $12.99 / month
ExpressVPN is the best VPN for Spotify. It provides servers in popular Spotify regions like the US, UK, Germany, and Brazil, ensuring access to diverse libraries. You can also access servers in countries like Egypt and India, where Spotify subscriptions are cheaper — ExpressVPN’s network spans across 105 countries!
This provider can access Spotify on restricted school and work networks, too, as it reliably gets around firewall-based blocks and DNS blocks. If some of these networks block VPN traffic as well, ExpressVPN offers an obfuscation feature that masks your VPN traffic and makes it look like regular traffic, allowing it to still work with Spotify. Plus, this feature also works in restrictive countries that block Spotify like China and Iran.
The VPN’s proprietary protocol, Lightway, gives you very fast speeds for streaming on Spotify. In my tests, the Spotify app on my iPhone opened instantly, and I could listen to songs and podcasts without any buffering. It’s also great that the protocol resists network changes, meaning that your VPN connection won’t drop if you switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data mid-session on Spotify.
Its split-tunneling feature is very convenient for Spotify — it lets you choose which apps use the VPN tunnel and which use your regular network. For instance, you can route only your Spotify traffic via the VPN and exclude apps that need your location, like delivery apps, without disconnecting from the VPN.
You get a free password manager called ExpressVPN Keys to store your Spotify password in a secure vault. This way, you don’t risk forgetting your credentials to log in to your account, there’s a password generator, and an auto-fill tool, which automatically fill in your information.
Finally, I really like how ExpressVPN protects your privacy on Spotify thanks to its Threat Manager, which blocks some external ad trackers that Spotify’s free version uses. It reduces your device’s communication with known tracking domains at the DNS level, helping to limit the amount of data that third-party tracking services can collect.
Bottom Line:
ExpressVPN is the best VPN for Spotify — its large server network accesses various Spotify libraries. The VPN also reliably works on networks and in countries that restrict Spotify, maintains fast speeds for streaming on the app, and includes cool extra features like split-tunneling and a password manager.
Read the full ExpressVPN review
🥈2. Private Internet Access — Great for Accessing Spotify Library in the US
6-month plan: $7.50 / month
1-month plan: $11.99 / month
Private Internet Access (PIA) is a great pick for accessing Spotify US. It has servers in every US state, giving you many server options to find the fastest server for listening to music and podcasts on Spotify in the US. Plus, PIA has servers in 90 countries, including popular Spotify libraries, like in the UK and Canada, and in countries where Spotify Premium is cheaper, like Turkey and India.
PIA accesses Spotify on school and work networks that block the app and in restrictive countries like China that block VPNs, too. It gets around VPN restrictions with its Shadowsocks proxy servers that obfuscate your traffic. It has Shadowsocks servers in 5+ countries including the US, the UK, Switzerland, and the Netherlands that offer diverse Spotify libraries. That said, I believe ExpressVPN is a better choice for Spotify in restrictive countries, as it obfuscates all of its servers.
I’m a big fan of how customizable PIA’s apps are for using Spotify. For example, if you’re on a public Wi-Fi that’s too slow, you can switch from 256-bit AES encryption to 128-bit AES encryption and get slightly faster speeds for Spotify.
The provider comes with split-tunneling, but unlike ExpressVPN, it also lets you exclude sites from the VPN tunnel. This means that you can secure your entire online traffic, including the Spotify app and site, but exclude sites like your bank’s IP address (most banks block VPNs).
I like that PIA offers great extra features for Spotify. It blocks some trackers on Spotify’s free version with its ad and tracker blocker, called PIA MACE, and you can use its Identity Guard feature to get alerts in case your Spotify login info is compromised in a data breach.
Bottom Line:
Private Internet Access is great for accessing Spotify US, as it has servers in every US state and also has a large server network. PIA can access Spotify on restricted networks and you can customize your connections for the best performance for Spotify. In addition, there are useful extras like an ad blocker and Identity Guard.
Read the full Private Internet Access review
Editor's Note: Private Internet Access and this site are in the same ownership group.
🥉3. CyberGhost VPN — Convenient Automation Rules for Spotify
6-month plan: $6.99 / month
1-month plan: $12.99 / month
CyberGhost VPN is great for automating your Spotify connections, thanks to its Smart Rules feature. This feature lets you create automation rules for Spotify that you set and let the VPN work in the background. For example, you can configure the VPN to automatically connect you to a specific server when you open the Spotify app or automatically launch the Spotify app when you connect to a server.
The VPN has servers in 100 countries, including 15+ US locations, 3 UK locations, and in Germany and Brazil. You can also find servers in locations where the subscription for Spotify is cheaper like Turkey, India, and Argentina.
However, it doesn’t have an obfuscation feature. This means it can’t access Spotify on restrictive networks and fails to work in countries that block the app and site, like China. The best VPNs for obfuscation, are ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access.
CyberGhost VPN includes split-tunneling but only on Android — there’s a similar feature available on desktop. It comes with an Identity Guard feature, like Private Internet Access, that alerts you if your email address and password linked to your Spotify account have been leaked. It blocks some trackers on Spotify as well via its Content Blocker.
Bottom Line:
CyberGhost VPN can help automate your connections to the app and site for convenience. It accesses top Spotify libraries thanks to servers in the US and UK and has servers in countries where Spotify is cheaper, like Argentina. That being said, it doesn’t work in countries that ban the app like China.
Read the full CyberGhost VPN review
Editor's Note: CyberGhost and this site are in the same ownership group.
4. NordVPN — Good for Safe Downloads on Spotify
Plus 24-month plan: $3.59 / month
Complete 24-month plan: $4.99 / month
Prime 24-month plan: $6.99 / month
NordVPN is great for safely downloading content from Spotify. It comes with Threat Protection Pro on desktop that scans all downloads for malware, so your Spotify downloads are always secure and free from threats — even if you’re not connected to the VPN.
This provider has a large server network that accesses Spotify without an issue. It has servers in 137 countries, including 15+ US cities, 2 German cities, and 4 UK server locations. Moreover, there are servers in countries like Brazil, Portugal, and Turkey where the Spotify subscription is pretty cheap.
NordVPN has obfuscated servers in 15+ countries in case these networks block VPNs. However, unlike ExpressVPN, it doesn’t work in restrictive countries like Russia where the app isn’t available.
I’m a big fan of NordVPN’s app-based kill switch for Spotify. You can configure it to only shut down your connection to the Spotify app if the VPN drops, so your IP doesn’t leak to the app.
The VPN has a Dark Web Monitoring feature that will notify you if any information related to your Spotify email is compromised.
Bottom Line:
NordVPN is ideal for securely downloading content from Spotify, thanks to its Threat Protection Pro feature that scans all downloads for malware. It also offers extensive server coverage across multiple countries and works on restricted networks but fails to access Spotify in countries where the app is banned.
5. Surfshark — Great GPS Feature for Spotify
One 24-month plan: $2.49 / month
One+ 24-month plan: $4.19 / month
Surfshark has a unique feature that’s great for accessing different Spotify libraries. Its Override GPS location matches your device’s GPS location with the location of the VPN server you’re connected to, preventing Spotify from detecting that you’re using a VPN. The downside is it’s only available on Android.
The VPN has servers in 100 countries that access extensive Spotify libraries, like in the US, UK, Spain, and Germany. It also has servers in places where Spotify offers cheaper subscriptions, like Argentina and Turkey.
I also really like Surfshark’s Alternative ID feature, too. It lets you create a fake online identity with a fake email address, which you can use when creating a Spotify account — it protects your personal information from stalkers and any malicious actors. The VPN comes with a tracker blocker, too.
Bottom Line:
Surfshark’s Override GPS location feature easily accesses different Spotify libraries, ensuring Spotify doesn’t detect the VPN. Surfshark also has servers in many countries, and it comes with a useful Alternative ID feature that enhances your Spotify’s account privacy.
Read the full Surfshark review
Quick Comparison Table
Editor's Note: Intego, Private Internet Access, CyberGhost and ExpressVPN are owned by Kape Technologies, our parent company
Testing Methodology: Comparison & Ranking Criteria
I applied our comprehensive testing methodology to ensure that I only recommend the best VPNs for Spotify. I made my choices based on a large server network, strong security features, speeds, and more. Here are the criteria I used to choose and rank these VPNs.
- I made sure the VPN worked with Spotify. The VPN I recommend access Spotify 100% without any issues.
- I searched for a VPN with a large server network. Each VPN on my list has servers in the US, the UK, Germany, and locations where the Spotify libraries are more diverse. Plus, they have servers in countries where you can purchase a cheaper Spotify subscription, like Turkey and India.
- I considered fast speeds. All VPNs slow down your speeds due to the encryption process. I made sure the VPNs on this list maintain fast speeds on nearby and distant servers for uninterrupted streaming sessions on Spotify.
- I looked for strong security features. I only recommend VPNs that come with industry-standard security features like 256-bit AES encryption, making your traffic unreadable to Spotify and malicious actors. Plus, they have a strict no-logs policy that Spotify activities aren’t stored, and a kill switch to prevent IP leaks that could reveal your location to Spotify if your VPN connection drops. I also did some leak tests and I experienced no leaks.
- I checked if the VPN worked on restrictive networks and countries. Most of the VPNs on my list offer obfuscation, which helps get around VPN blocks in case your work or school network blocks VPNs in addition to Spotify. Plus, the top VPNs I recommend also work in countries that block access to Spotify like China.
- I ensured the VPN provided a good value. Every VPN on this list has affordable plans with generous money-back guarantees. Plus, they have extra features like split-tunneling and tracker, and malicious site blockers.
Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut
- PrivateVPN. PrivateVPN accesses Spotify’s top libraries (like the US and UK ones), and it has servers in some places where the subscription is cheaper. It’s also pretty secure, but, unlike the VPNs on my list, it doesn’t offer any extras (like split-tunneling or a tracker blocker).
- TunnelBear. TunnelBear can access Spotify, and it’s very beginner-friendly, but it only has servers in only 47 countries, which makes its network smaller than what the VPNs on my list offer.
- IPVanish. IPVanish is a fast and secure VPN for Spotify that has servers in countries like the US and Canada, and it also has a decent server network in Europe that can access Spotify. However, it doesn’t have many servers in countries with cheaper Spotify subscriptions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best VPN for Spotify?
ExpressVPN is the best VPN for Spotify, as it has servers in locations where Spotify’s most popular libraries are available, including the US, the UK, and Germany. In addition, it has super fast speeds for smooth streaming on Spotify and reliably works on networks and in countries that restrict the platform.
Does Spotify allow VPNs?
Spotify doesn’t prohibit users from using a VPN, but it’s worth noting that the platform’s Terms of Service require users to be in the country where their account is registered. In addition, Spotify’s content is restricted due to licensing agreements. While Spotify doesn’t block VPNs and you can use a VPN to safely use Spotify, accessing different Spotify libraries goes against its Terms of Service.
Which countries have the cheapest Spotify subscription?
The cheapest Spotify subscription is in countries like Turkey, India, Egypt, Argentina, and Brazil. The VPNs that I recommend have servers in these countries for securely accessing Spotify.
How to get a Spotify subscription in Turkey?
You’ll need to change your location to get a Spotify subscription in Turkey. A good Spotify VPN with servers in Turkey (or virtual servers that can get you a Turkey IP address) can help you purchase a Turkish Spotify subscription. However, note that this goes against the company’s Terms of Service that require users to use the service in the country where they’ve set up the account and where their payment method is registered.
Editor's Note: ExpressVPN and this site are in the same ownership group.
