The Best VPNs to Watch Hotstar Outside of India

From the 65 VPNs we tested with Hotstar, only 3 VPNs are worth recommending. You can compare them in the table below, or keep reading to find a more detailed review:

1. ExpressVPN: The Best VPN for Hotstar Overall

Pros	Cons
Virtual Indian server locations	Expensive subscription
Reliable access to Hotstar outside of India	Smart DNS doesn’t work with Hotstar
Unblocks Hotstar content on Hulu, Disney+ & HBO Max
User-friendly apps across all platforms & devices
7-day free trial & 30-day refund guarantee

ExpressVPN‘s India servers reliably unblocked Hotstar in all of our tests. As the best VPN for streaming, it’s also able to unblock international sites that also offer Hotstar content and Indian sports, including Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Tubi, and JioCinema for the IPL.

ExpressVPN’s Indian servers aren’t physically located in the country, but its virtual servers still provide an Indian IP address that is just as effective for accessing Hotstar. Our tests found that the India via Singapore virtual server is the best choice for Hotstar.

We encountered no buffering issues streaming Hotstar content from outside India thanks to ExpressVPN’s fast long-distance connections. Our speed tests worked out an average international speed of 85Mbps, which makes it one of the fastest VPNs you can get.

ExpressVPN apps are available for every major device and platform, including Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Apple TV, Fire TV Stick, and even routers. This enables you to stream Hotstar on multiple devices of your choice.

ExpressVPN costs $6.67 on its best price deal, which may put some off. However, in our experience ExpressVPN’s performance justifies the price. Whether you have an Indian phone number or not, it’s the easiest way to unblock Disney+ Hotstar content from outside of India.

You can also use ExpressVPN for free by signing up to a 7-day free trial via a mobile device, or by asking for a refund within 30-days of buying a subscription. This way you can stream Hotstar completely for free.

2. Private Internet Access (PIA): Cheap Alternative for Hotstar

Pros	Cons
Indian servers unblock Hotstar	One Indian location only
Fast international speeds	Doesn’t work with Disney+
Budget subscription price	Smart DNS doesn’t work
Accesses Hulu, Tubi & HBO Max
24/7 live chat support

Private Internet Access (PIA) comes with virtual India servers that work to unblock Hotstar from anywhere. It’s not as reliable as ExpressVPN, but it’s substantially cheaper at just $2.03 per month.

All of PIA’s servers are based in Mumbai. We’d like to see more Indian city options so you can switch between locations and find the best connection, but we experienced very little network congestion using the service.

We also experienced no buffering when streaming Hotstar. This is due to PIA’s average international download speed result: 86Mbps. This represents a speed loss of just 14%, which makes PIA faster than ExpressVPN and CyberGhost.

You can also use PIA to unblock Hotstar Specials on Hulu and access Hotstar content on Max and Tubi. However, our tests show that it’s been unreliable with Disney+ for some time.

PIA has simple apps for major streaming devices, including Fire TV Stick and Apple TV. But it’s let down by a Smart DNS service that doesn’t work.

3. CyberGhost: Best Free VPN for Hotstar

Pros	Cons
100% free trial on desktop and mobile	Mumbai location only
India servers unblock Hotstar	Slower than ExpressVPN & PIA
Cheap subscriptions	Connection issues and bugs
45-day money-back guarantee

If you want a free VPN for Hotstar, we recommend CyberGhost VPN. Its Mumbai server works to access Hotstar and it has the best VPN free trial available on both desktop and mobile, where you can use it 100% free for 7 days. You can also claim your money-back within an extended 45-day window.

If you want to stream Hotstar content on other international streaming sites, CyberGhost also works for Max, Hulu, Tubi, and Disney+.

CyberGhost’s average international speed is 81Mbps. This is fast considering the distances involved, and it won’t affect streaming Hotstar, but it is slower than ExpressVPN and PIA.

We also did not enjoy using CyberGhost’s apps as much as ExpressVPN’s, which are easier to navigate. CyberGhost’s connection can sometimes freeze your internet and stop it working.

If you did choose to subscribe to CyberGhost, it only costs $2.03 per month on its best deal. This is equal to PIA, but PIA offers better overall performance and therefore more value for money.

Unfortunately, our research shows that if you do not have an Indian phone number there is no way to get the full premium version of Hotstar, even if you use a VPN.

Most websites ignore this fact, or suggest purchasing a virtual phone number or paying a third party. But there are other, safer ways to access Hotstar content.

That’s because, even if you don’t have access to an Indian phone number, you can still watch most Hotstar content through other streaming services.

Hotstar is owned by Disney, which distributes its Hotstar content to other regions through other streaming services it owns, such as Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (all of these are available as the Disney Bundle package in the US). It also rents its content to services like Max and Tubi. A top VPN for streaming allows you to access all of these services from anywhere.

For example, popular Disney+ Hotstar titles like Bahut Hua Sammaan, Criminal Justice, City of Dreams, and Special Ops are all available if you have access to Hulu.

Our VPN research also shows that you can use a VPN to stream the IPL for free through Jio Cinema, access F1 for free through RTBF Auvio, and stream the English Premier League cheaply on Setanta Sports.

We maintain data on each VPN’s performance with every major international streaming service, so you can use the table below to see which VPN accesses the international streaming services that show Hotstar content:

ExpressVPN and PIA offer complete solutions to accessing Hotstar content. They enable you to access both the premium and free version of Hotstar India, alongside every other international streaming service that Hotstar content is also available on.

Based on our Hotstar-specific tests, most VPNs weren’t able to unblock the Indian streaming platform, including very popular names.

We’ve listed below some of the more notable VPNs that currently don’t unblock Hotstar India:

Hotspot Shield

Hotspot Shield can assign you an Indian IP address via a virtual server location. However, it did not work to access Hotstar from abroad in our tests.

NordVPN

Despite being an impressive VPN in most areas, our streaming tests show that NordVPN is unreliable at bypassing Hotstar’s geo-restrictions.

PureVPN

PureVPN’s India virtual server worked with Hotstar in our tests. However, the VPN’s long distance speeds aren’t as good as ExpressVPN’s or PIA’s. It also cannot unblock Hotstar content on Hulu.

To find the best VPN to watch Hotstar, we tested each VPN against the following criteria

Reliably Unblocks Hotstar (40%): We tested each VPN with Hotstar to check that it bypassed Hotstar geo-restrictions, allowing us to stream Hotstar outside of India.

India Server Locations (30%): Lots of India servers help to prevent server congestion and deliver optimal performance. It enables you to switch between servers if one isn’t currently working with Hotstar.

International Download Speeds (20%): Fast download speeds allows you to stream Hotstar in high resolution and without buffering. We collect download speed results from multiple international locations to determine each VPNs average international speed.

Streaming Device Compatibility (10%): VPN for Hotstar should be available as an easy-to-use app on various streaming devices, including Fire TV Stick and Apple TV. This enables you to stream Hotstar however you want.

The table below shows how each VPN scored in each testing category: