Best BBC iPlayer VPN 2023

Which is the best BBC iPlayer VPN to use in 2023? Good question, TV fans. With the right VPN, you may find that you have faster load times (less buffering), and you’ll even be able to keep up with your favourite BBC shows like Doctor Who, Inside No. 9, Killing Eve, and so on when you’re travelling on your holidays.

However, we should specify that the BBC iPlayer is a service created exclusively for British citizens with a television licence. We are not advocating the use of a BBC iPlayer VPN to access the content on iPlayer if you do not live in the UK, and if you do not have a TV licence. We are only recommending the use of VPNs in order to enhance the experience of those who would have had access to the iPlayer anyway.

Your viewing habits are your own and it is reasonable that you would not want your internet service provider recording data on what you like to watch. Not every VPN is compatible with the BBC iPlayer, but we’ve chosen four of our favourites (with ExpressVPN as our top pick, more on that below) and all of them work fine with the iPlayer.

The best VPNs for BBC iPlayer are:

• The best BBC iPlayer VPN – ExpressVPN
• The best VPN for streaming – CyberGhost
• The best cheap VPN – Private Internet Access
• The fastest VPN – NordVPN

1. The best BBC iPlayer VPN

ExpressVPN is the best BBC iPlayer VPN.

ExpressVPN overview:

Pros:

• Server IP addresses refreshed regularly
• Uses the speedy Lightway protocol

Cons:

• On the pricier end of the spectrum
• No free trial

Our choice for the best BBC iPlayer VPNs is ExpressVPN. Our reason for this is that it is a brilliant VPN all-round that is fully compatible with BBC iPlayer. In addition to more than 3,000 servers across 94 countries, it also has its own dedicated, encrypted IP for each one of these servers in order to boost your privacy levels into the stratosphere.

It may be a little bit more expensive than some of the other VPNs mentioned on this list, but it’s definitely a case of getting what you pay for. Do you worry about VPN interference with other apps or services that you use? You’ll be pleased to hear that ExpressVPN offers split-tunnelling in order to allow you to set one app to go through the VPN, while others use your native connection. It has every base covered.

Meanwhile, ExpressVPN is also known for refreshing its servers’ IP addresses at a more regular ate than a lot of other providers. This means that if any of them happen to be blocked by the iPlayer, chances are that they’ll soon refresh and get in again as normal. Considered altogether, this is a truly fantastic service.

Read the ExpressVPN review on our sister site, PCGamesN, to learn more about this provider.

2. The best VPN for streaming

CyberGhost is the best VPN for streaming.

CyberGhost overview:

Pros:

• Big server selection
• Broad streaming compatibility

Cons:

• A smidgen slower than others
• Free trial could be longer

We recommend CyberGhost as the best VPN for streaming. Confused about how this is the best for streaming, while ExpressVPN is the best for BBC iPlayer? Well, while we’d recommend ExpressVPN for anyone who does most (or all) of their streaming through BBC iPlayer, we recommend CyberGhost for anyone who enjoys all the best streaming services (including BBC iPlayer). Get the distinction?

What makes CyberGhost such a good choice then? Well, it has over 7,400 servers across 91 countries and is compatible with all the major streaming platforms. It allows you to have a fairly generous total of seven simultaneous connections, meaning you can easily have it set up for multiple people in your household to use while streaming at the same time.

If you want a chance to test it with multiple services first, CyberGhost is one of the few providers that offer a VPN free trial. After that, it even has a 45-day money-back guarantee that’ll give you more than enough to decide whether it’s worth the long-term investment.

Read the CyberGhost review on our sister site, PCGamesN, if you want to learn more about this VPN.

3. The best cheap VPN

Private Internet Access (PIA) is the best cheap VPN to use with BBC iPlayer.

Private Internet Access overview:

Pros:

• Affordable pricing
• Up to ten simultaneous connections

Cons:

• Slightly slower than other providers
• No free trial

A TV licence comes with a big annual fee, so you might not want to add a costly VPN to your list of yearly expenses. If you’re after a cheap VPN, then Private Internet Access is the service for you.

A lot of people could afford its lower rates by just cutting out on one coffee a month, or, if you don’t drink coffee, one less ounce of truffles – in fact that last one’ll probably pay for the whole plan. Point is, its price shouldn’t scare you off too much.

If you’re worried that because it’s cheap, you might get a lacklustre service, you can put your worries to rest. Not only does Private Internet Access allow you to have ten simultaneous connections (more than any other provider on this list gives you), but it also has 35,000 servers spread around 78 countries around the world. It’s not to be snuffed at.

4. The fastest VPN

NordVPN is the fastest VPN.

NordVPN overview:

Pros:

• Super speedy service
• Great for steaming generally

Cons:

• Slightly pricier
• No free trial

NordVPN is very well known in the VPN sphere, and part of the reason for this is that it is the fastest VPN. Boasting connection speeds of 65.79Mbit/s, you may find that this VPN can enhance your experience with the BBC iPlayer.

If you find that it takes a while to load, or that it buffers a lot, your internet service provider (ISP) might be artificially slowing down the connection because you’re using up a lot of bandwidth, and NordVPN can stop this.

It also has 5,308 servers across 60 countries (which isn’t bad), although it does only allow for six simultaneous connections. On top of that, NordVPN is a little bit more expensive than some other providers, so it has its pros and its cons. Nonetheless, it remains a fantastic choice for BBC iPlayer is still a generally great VPN.

Read the comprehensive NordVPN review from our sister site, PCGamesN, to find out more.

How we chose the best BBC iPlayer VPN

After looking at several top providers, we decided that ExpressVPN would be the best choice, but we realise everyone has different needs, so we included CyberGhost, Private Internet Access, and NordVPN in order to balance the scales somewhat and accommodate as many people as possible. For each service listed here, we carefully considered their unique strengths and weaknesses and compared that against the needs of iPlayer users so that we could narrow down the most appropriate choices.