Short on time? Here’s the best VPN for Disney+ in 2023:
- 🥇 ExpressVPN: Reliably works with Disney+, maintains extremely fast speeds, has world-class security features, and provides user-friendly apps for all of the major platforms. It allows 5 connections, has affordable pricing, and covers each plan with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
I’m a huge Star Wars fan, and I love to stream all of the Star Wars films and TV series on Disney+. However, I always make sure to watch Disney+ with a virtual private network (VPN), which provides me with peace-of-mind security and also the flexibility to keep up with the latest Star Wars episodes even when I travel abroad — with a VPN, I can connect to a server in my home country to access any Disney+ title.
Unfortunately, many VPNs don’t work with the popular streaming app. This is because Disney+ (and other top streaming services) has sophisticated technology that detects and blocks VPNs. Even most of the VPNs that actually work with Disney+ are lousy — many have very slow speeds and lag (causing stuttering, freezing, and interruptions), buggy apps that are complicated to use, or small server networks so most users can’t connect to a VPN server in their home country.
I spent the past few weeks testing the top VPNs on the market to find the best ones for Disney+. All the VPNs on this list work with Disney+ 100% of the time, provide really fast speeds for smooth and uninterrupted streaming, and have easy-to-use apps for many different devices.
Quick summary of the best VPNs for Disney+ in 2023:
- 🥇 1. ExpressVPN — Best overall VPN for watching Disney+ in 2023.
- 🥈 2. Private Internet Access — Great for streaming Disney+ on mobile devices.
- 🥉 3. CyberGhost VPN — Good VPN for beginners looking to stream Disney+.
- 4. NordVPN — Reliable with great security & fast speeds on all servers.
- 5. PrivateVPN — User-friendly VPN with good speeds.
- Bonus. Proton VPN — High privacy features + dedicated streaming servers.
- Comparison of the Best VPNs for Disney+.
🥇1. ExpressVPN — Best VPN for Streaming Disney+ in 2023
ExpressVPN is my favorite VPN for watching Disney+ — in my tests, I was consistently able to access Disney+ on ExpressVPN’s US servers at any hour of the day. And thanks to its large server network (3,000+ servers in 90+ countries), most users will also be able to connect to a local server to access their country’s Disney+ titles and get the fastest speeds.
Speaking of speeds, ExpressVPN has its own proprietary Lightway protocol, which provided me with industry-leading speeds. My HD videos loaded instantly and 4k videos started right away and there were zero interruptions. I also really like how ExpressVPN comes with a Smart Location feature that helps choose an optimal server, so I was able to easily find and connect to the fastest one for watching Disney+.
Additionally, I like that ExpressVPN offers split-tunneling (allows you to exclude traffic from the VPN tunnel) on its Windows, Android, macOS, and router apps — most VPNs only offer this feature on 1 or 2 platforms. I was able to have faster streaming speeds on my Windows 10 PC by routing Disney+ through ExpressVPN while sending all of my browsing traffic through my internet service provider (ISP).
Along with being my top choice for streaming Disney+, ExpressVPN is also the best VPN for streaming, as it’s able to access over 65 streaming channels, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and HBO Max. And you can watch Disney+ on practically any device that airs content, as ExpressVPN has easy-to-use apps for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, smart TVs, Amazon Fire Stick, and routers.
ExpressVPN also has its own SmartDNS feature, called MediaStreamer, which allows you to stream content on devices without native VPN apps like gaming consoles and some smart TVs — and you get faster speeds because there’s no encryption. The only drawback of ExpressVPN’s MediaStreamer is you can’t change your location. It took me about 10 minutes to set up MediaStreamer on my Xbox using ExpressVPN’s detailed instructions, but the process may be a bit complicated for inexperienced users.
I’m also impressed with ExpressVPN’s router options. First, it has one of the best and most intuitive router apps (and includes very detailed instructions for how to configure it to your router). ExpressVPN also offers Aircove, its state-of-the-art proprietary router that’s fast, secure, and comes with tons of built-in VPN protections.
In terms of security, ExpressVPN is hard to match — it comes with advanced security features like perfect forward secrecy (changes your encryption key for each session to prevent hackers from accessing past or future keys) and RAM-only servers (they don’t store any data on the hard drive and all data is erased each time the server is reset).
ExpressVPN and has monthly and yearly plans starting at $6.67 / month — this price is more expensive than some other VPNs on the market, but you still can’t beat the value it provides (and its long-term plan usually includes extra months for free). ExpressVPN backs all of its plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee. All plans include up to 5 simultaneous connections
Bottom Line:
ExpressVPN is able to consistently access Disney+, along with all of the other top streaming sites. You get a huge server network and the best streaming speeds out there, ensuring that your Disney+ content will play without any lag, buffering, or interruptions. ExpressVPN is very secure, very user-friendly, and has a 30-day money-back guarantee for all of its plans.
Read the full ExpressVPN review
🥈 2. Private Internet Access — Great for Streaming Disney+ on Android & iOS Devices
Private Internet Access (PIA) has robust security, fast speeds, and customizable mobile apps. It has servers in 80+ countries and is able to access Disney+ 24/7.
I really like how the Android and iOS apps allow you to personalize 20+ settings that can improve your streaming experience, including changing your encryption level to 128-bit AES encryption (giving you slightly faster speeds than with 256-bit AES), changing your protocol (WireGuard had the fastest speeds for me), and automatically connecting to PIA if it detects an unsecured Wi-Fi network (for watching Disney+ on the train to work or at a hotel).
PIA has very fast speeds, but it’s still a bit slower than ExpressVPN. While my HD videos loaded instantly, 4k videos took around 3-4 seconds to load. But once the videos began, I didn’t have any buffering or lag. I’m also a big fan of how PIA lists the latency (the time it takes for a signal to travel from your device to the server) for all of its servers and uses a color-coded system (green = good and red = bad) to help you easily find the servers with the lowest latency and fastest speeds.
You can stream Disney+ content and all of the other top streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and BBC iPlayer) on nearly any device with PIA — it has native apps for the major platforms, as well as routers and smart TVs. There’s also SmartDNS, so PIA works on your gaming consoles, and unlike ExpressVPN, PIA’s SmartDNS tool allows you to change your location to 5 different countries (the US, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and the UK).
On top of having RAM-only servers and perfect forward secrecy, PIA comes with open-source apps. These allow anyone to check out the code for any cracks in security. PIA also comes with split-tunneling for Android, Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Private Internet Access offers plans that start at $2.19 / month, which makes it one of the most affordable VPNs on the market. It backs all of its plans with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and it allows unlimited simultaneous connections.
Bottom Line:
Private Internet Access offers customizable mobile apps and is great for reliably accessing Disney+. It’s fast, feature-rich, and secure, works on all popular devices, allows unlimited connections at the same time, and has a 30-day money-back guarantee for all plans.
Try Private Internet Access Now
Read the full Private Internet Access review
🥉3. CyberGhost VPN — User-Friendly Apps With Specialized Servers for Disney+
CyberGhost VPN is a great VPN for beginners who want to watch Disney+ — it has an eye-pleasing design that makes it simple to navigate and offers dedicated streaming servers for Disney+ in Italy, India, and the US (though all of its servers work with Disney+). It also has 50+ dedicated streaming servers across 10+ countries for other top streaming sites like Netflix and Amazon Prime, as well as lesser-known sites like Globo (Brazil), FranceTV, and TV4Play (Sweden).
When it comes to speeds, CyberGhost is similar to Private Internet Access, but slower than ExpressVPN. In my tests, HD videos loaded right away and 4k videos took around 4 seconds to start. And with servers located in 90+ countries, you’ll never be far from a local server no matter where you live.
I also really like CyberGhost VPN’s Smart Rules feature available on Windows and macOS, which lets you customize CyberGhost VPN’s launch settings. I was able to set Disney+ to open automatically after connecting to a CyberGhost server, for example. And I watched Disney+ movies on my Galaxy smartphone and iPhone, Windows and Mac PCs, and my Amazon TV with CyberGhost (it also has SmartDNS, which allows you to connect to servers in the US, UK, Denmark, and Japan).
For privacy and security, it includes RAM-only servers and perfect forward secrecy, and it also comes with split tunneling (but only on Android).
CyberGhost VPN has several plans that start at $2.11 / month, and backs its long-term plans with a 45-day money-back guarantee (monthly plans have a 14-day money-back guarantee). It allows 7 simultaneous connections.
Bottom Line:
CyberGhost VPN is very user-friendly, consistently works with Disney+, and maintains fast speeds. It also has dedicated streaming servers for 50+ streaming apps in 10+ countries (including Disney+ in 3 countries), as well as great security features, affordable subscription plans, and a 45-day money-back guarantee for its long-term plans.
Read the full CyberGhost VPN review
4. NordVPN — Reliable With Great Security Features & Fast Speeds
NordVPN is very fast, very secure, and always works with Disney+. It has servers in more than 55 countries — it’s a smaller network than the other top VPNs on this list, but the servers are spread out all over the world so most users can connect to a nearby server. It’s also easy to use, and I never had any trouble installing it, setting it up, and watching my favorite musicals on Disney+.
In my tests, NordVPN had speeds similar to Private Internet Access and CyberGhost VPN, but it was still slower than ExpressVPN. Any slowdown I experiences was barely noticeable and didn’t give me any significant issues.
I opened up Disney+ and had no trouble logging in and choosing a movie. I was able to stream in 4K without any annoying buffering, and my picture remained crystal clear the whole time. On faraway servers, I did start to notice some buffering, and streaming in 4K became a bit less reliable.
NordVPN is also really secure — you get RAM-only servers, perfect forward secrecy, and full leak protection. In addition, NordVPN’s no-logs policy has been independently audited multiple times. There’s also a pretty good ad blocker, called Threat Protection. When I tried it, it removed pesky ads and frustrating pop-ups completely, while also preventing me from accessing suspicious websites. The best part is that it remains active, even if the VPN is turned off.
NordVPN has several low-cost plans, with prices starting at $4.99 / month. It allows 6 connections and backs all purchases with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
NordVPN has servers located in more than 55 countries and consistently accesses Disney+. It maintains very fast speeds, has robots security features, and affordable pricing plans. All plans have a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full NordVPN review here
5. PrivateVPN — User-Friendly VPN With Good Speeds
PrivateVPN is a simplistic VPN that consistently works with Disney+. Plus, it has fast speeds, good security, and an easy-to-use interface for all platforms. Along with Disney+, I was able to access other top streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and HBO Max in my tests.
PrivateVPN has servers in 60+ countries, and all of them provide good speeds. In my tests, I experienced speeds that were slower than all of the other VPNs on this list, but they were still fast for streaming content on Disney+. My 4K videos loaded in less than 5 seconds, and I only experienced minimal buffering when I streamed videos while connected to very distant servers.
I also like how PrivateVPN’s interface is simple to use — there are only a few options to change your preferences, and there are explanations for all of the features. I also appreciate that the desktop app has two view modes (Simple View and Advanced View) that allow you to decide how much customization you want over the default settings.
However, PrivateVPN is missing some extra features like split-tunneling, it doesn’t have Smart DNS, there are only apps for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and routers, and it lacks enhanced security features like perfect forward secrecy and RAM-only servers.
PrivateVPN allows offers very affordable plans that start at just $2.00 / month and covers each purchase with a 30-day money-back guarantee. It allows 10 simultaneous connections.
Bottom Line:
PrivateVPN is able to access Disney+, as well as the most popular streaming apps, maintains fast speeds, and is very simple to use. It has affordable plans, and it provides a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can test it out risk-free.
Read the full PrivateVPN review
6. Proton VPN — High Privacy Features + Dedicated Streaming Servers
Proton VPN accesses Disney+ with dedicated streaming servers called Plus servers that are optimized to work with Disney+ — and tons of other streaming apps. However, Plus servers are only available to users who purchase Proton VPN’s premium Plus plans (Proton VPN’s Free plan doesn’t include access to Plus servers).
Proton VPN doesn’t have a SmartDNS feature or router app, unlike ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, and CyberGhost VPN, but it has apps for the major platforms, as well as Linux, Chromebook, and Android TV.
As for speeds, Proton VPN was on par with CyberGhost VPN in my tests. I also really like Proton VPN’s Accelerator feature, which increases your speeds (it boosted my speeds by as much as 40% on some distant servers).
I also like using Proton VPN’s Profiles feature to create my own connection profiles. For example, I set up a profile to connect to the fastest US server for watching Disney+. Proton VPN also includes split tunneling for Android and Windows.
Proton VPN is very secure. You get full disk encryption (scrambles all of the data on its servers), perfect forward secrecy, and open-source apps that have been audited.
Proton VPN’s Plus plan starts at $3.99 / month, includes 10 connections, provides access to the fastest servers, has P2P support, and comes with an ad blocker. Proton VPN backs all of its plans prorated 30-day money-back guarantee.
Bottom Line:
Proton VPN has dedicated servers for streaming, fast speeds, and accesses Disney+ all of the time, but it only allows streaming on premium plans. It’s also very secure, its apps are easy to use, and it backs all of its plans with a prorated 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read the full Proton VPN review
Comparison of the Best VPNs for Disney+ in 2023
How to Choose the Best VPN for Disney+ in 2023:
- Find a VPN that consistently accesses Disney+. Disney+ is really good at detecting and blocking a lot of VPNs, but all of the brands on this list work with Disney+ 100% of the time.
- Search for VPNs with excellent streaming support. I only recommend VPNs that also work with other popular streaming services, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu. My top pick, ExpressVPN, claims to access 65+ streaming services.
- Look for fast streaming speeds. All VPNs slow down your speeds because they encrypt your traffic, but top brands maintain fast speeds across all servers. All of my picks provided me with fast and uninterrupted streaming speeds.
- Consider ease of use. Good VPNs provide intuitive apps for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, smart TVs, routers, and more, have user-friendly designs, and make it simple to connect to a server and watch Disney+ content.
- Use a VPN with strong security and privacy. All the VPNs on this list include industry-standard VPN security features like 256-bit AES encryption, a kill switch (disconnects you from the internet if your VPN connection fails to prevent traffic leaks), a no-logs policy (prevents the VPN from logging your IP address and online traffic), and DNS leak protection.
- Pick a VPN that offers good value. All of the VPNs I recommend allow multiple simultaneous connections, have affordable plans, and back all purchases with a money-back guarantee.
Top Brands That Didn’t Make the Cut
- HMA (formerly HideMyAss!). HMA has fast speeds, strong security, and intuitive apps, but it isn’t good for accessing Disney+ or most other popular streaming sites.
- Hola VPN. Hola VPN doesn’t work with Disney+, and it doesn’t route your internet traffic through encrypted servers; instead, it uses a peer-to-peer (P2P) network and replaces your IP address with the IP address of another Hola VPN user. This means someone else could use your IP address to engage in nefarious behavior.
- IVPN. IVPN has excellent security and privacy features, maintains pretty good speeds, and supports torrenting, but it’s not good for accessing streaming services. IVPN didn’t work with Disney+ or any other popular streaming service in my tests.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the best VPN to access Disney+?
ExpressVPN is my favorite VPN for watching Disney+ — it works with Disney+ 100% of the time, maintains some of the fastest streaming speeds in the industry, has easy-to-use apps for many different devices, and also works with 65+ other streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.
Can I use a free VPN to watch Disney+?
Maybe, but most free VPNs don’t work with Disney+. Instead, I recommend getting a premium VPN like ExpressVPN or Private Internet Access for streaming Disney+ — they both work with Disney+ all of the time, have lightning-fast speeds, offer competitive plans, and back each purchase with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
As for the few free VPNs that actually work with Disney, they typically set a limit on your daily or monthly bandwidth, which prevents you from watching as much Disney+ content as you’d like. Most free VPNs have slow speeds, small server networks, and are untrustworthy.
Can I watch Disney+ with a VPN?
Yes, but only some VPNs actually work with Disney+. Many top streaming services are able to detect and block VPNs, so you need to make sure you buy a VPN that is able to access Disney+ 24/7. While all of the VPNs I recommend work with Disney+, my favorite is ExpressVPN because it has the fastest speeds and is very easy to use.
How do I watch Disney+ with a VPN?
Accessing Disney+ with a VPN is very simple — it requires only 4 steps:
- Step 1: Pick a VPN that works with Disney+. Choose a VPN with at least 1 server in your home country — I recommend ExpressVPN due to its lightning-fast streaming speeds, large server network (servers in 90+ countries), and excellent streaming support.
- Step 2: Download and install the VPN. It only takes a few minutes to download and install a VPN on your device.
- Step 3: Choose a server. Scroll down through the VPN’s list of server locations and select a server.
- Step 4: Log into Disney+. Now you can kick back and relax with your favorite Disney+ content.
