How to unblock and watch U.S. Prime Video
Overview
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Table of Contents
Prime Video is the seriously popular on-demand streaming service that hosts literally thousands of movies, shows, and award-winning Prime Originals. Amazon Prime offers one-day delivery, unlimited music, and includes this impressive streaming service.
Amazon Prime Video works out at a similar rate to other streaming video services like Netflix. However, you don't get a delivery service, music streaming, and access to the Kindle library with Netflix. It's for this reason that so many people continue to sign up to Amazon's video streaming service. Amazon Prime Video is available to stream on all the Kindle Fire tablets and more than 600 other devices, including pretty much every computer, smartphone, console, and smart TV you can imagine.
This all sounds great, but imagine for a moment that not everything is perfect. Imagine that everything is not well with the world, because you have signed up to Amazon Prime Video to specifically watch one programme, and it's only shown on the U.S. version of the service. It's a troubling thought and it seems to happen fairly regularly.
Fortunately, there is something you can do to avoid this annoying issue. You can use a VPN to gain access to all of the best American content from the UK.
What is a VPN?
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) provide online privacy and anonymity by creating a private network from a public internet connection. VPNs hide your real IP address so all of your online activity is untraceable and secure.
Does this make sense? We understand that this sort of technology can be confusing, so it can help to think of a VPN as a tunnel through which all of your online traffic passes. This tunnel is encrypted, meaning that nobody can see into it, and everything inside is protected against online threats like hackers, viruses, and malware.
What are the benefits of using a VPN?
VPNs are used to provide protection for your sensitive information, and this is obviously important. These services are vital for improving you cybersecurity, there is another reason that VPNs are so popular.
These tools can also be used to watch content that is normally blocked in your location by hiding your real IP address and connecting you to a server in another country. This simple process tricks leading streaming sites into thinking you are based in another country, meaning you can watch all of the extra content from global libraries.
VPNs are keys to the online world, granting you access to more of the shows and films you love by bypassing geo-restrictions.
How do you unblock U.S. Prime Video with a VPN?
The process of accessing the American version of Prime Video with a VPN is actually really simple. All you need to do is open up your preferred VPN, select an American server in order to spoof your IP to a U.S. address, and then head to Prime Video.
There is a bit of a cat and mouse situation with streaming sites and VPNs, as sites like Prime Video and Netflix look to detect VPN usage and block servers. This is why you should always try and pick a VPN with a large and diverse network of servers, so you always have plenty of options to bypass restrictions.
You will still need to be subscribed to Prime Video for this trick to work. A VPN is not going to grant access to the streaming site for free. Instead, a VPN provides access to more libraries from around the world, once you're subscribed.
What is the best VPN for Prime Video?
There are plenty of VPNs out there that can bypass online restrictions to unblock Prime Video, which is good and bad. It's great to have options, but with so many VPNs to consider, it can be tough to pick the best option for you. This is where we come in.
We have outlined the best VPNs for the job. If you're looking to unlock more content from anywhere in the world, we recommend checking out ExpressVPN, PureVPN, NordVPN, and the other names in this list. There should be something for everyone and every budget. You just need to weigh up each VPN against your own set of preferences, and pick a favourite.
These are the best VPNs for Prime Video in 2025.
ExpressVPN
Best For Speed
The Good & The Bad
- Great customer support
- High-level performance
- Most expensive
- Limited number of connections
Why We Like It
ExpressVPN provides access to speedy servers from anywhere in the world, with great customer support. So it ticks the two essential boxes when it comes to VPNs. ExpressVPN operate across 94 countries, meaning that the performance shouldn't dip away if you are travelling around.
ExpressVPN offers custom apps, in particular for Android and iOS, making it really easy to maintain access to U.S. Amazon Prime Video content when you are on the go.
There’s no free trial with ExpressVPN and it's one of the pricier options at about £5 per month. You can’t try before you buy, but there is a 30-day money back guarantee so if you don't like it you can get out without losing out.
Details
CyberGhost VPN
Best For Beginners
The Good & The Bad
- Strong privacy policy
- Advanced security features
- Simultaneous connections
- Large server network
- Intuitive interface
- There are faster VPNs
Why We Like It
CyberGhost VPN is one of the most comprehensive products on offer, with a strong stance on privacy, a slick interface, a good network of servers, decent connection speeds, and much more.
CyberGhost VPN does not store information on your IP address, DNS queries, browsing history, or session duration, and it offers advanced security features like split tunnelling. As an added bonus, CyberGhost VPN is really easy to install and use, with an intuitive design that should suit everyone. Even complete VPN newbies should be absolutely fine with CyberGhost VPN.
CyberGhost VPN lets you to experience the full potential of your Amazon Prime subscription, and you’ll be able to watch your shows on multiple operating systems as users get apps for a wide range of devices.
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Private Internet Access
Best For Server Network
The Good & The Bad
- Huge server network
- Good speeds
- 10 simultaneous connections
- Interface is clunky
Why We Like It
Unblocking of streaming sites relies on a strong and diverse network of servers, and Private Internet Access definitely has that. You can pick from literally thousands of high-speed servers based all over the world with this powerful VPN.
The interface is a little clunky and outdated, but that really doesn't matter because users get powerful encryption, strong connection speeds, and much more. Private Internet Access keep things simple and covers all of the essentials.
You are also allowed 10 simultaneous connections with Private Internet Access, meaning it's a great option for large households with lots of streaming on different devices.
Details
Surfshark
Best For Multiple Devices
The Good & The Bad
- Unlimited number of connections
- Slick interface
- Advanced security features
- Pricey if you can't commit
Why We Like It
Surfshark offers a plenty of advanced security features, like split tunnelling and enterprise-grade infrastructure, but that's not all. Surfshark subscribers can connect an unlimited number of devices simultaneously, which is great news for those with lots of tech.
Surfshark is one of the best VPNs for streaming, and can reliably unblock the American versions of Netflix and Prime Video. The process of connecting to an American server is also really simple thanks to a slick interface and intuitive app.
Surfshark does not have the cheapest monthly rate, but if you're willing to commit to a two-year deal, you can get access to everything for under £2 a month.
Details
PureVPN
Best For Interface
The Good & The Bad
- Strong performance
- Packed full of great features
- Easy to install
- Low price
- There's no free trial option
- The trickiest process to connect to US Amazon Prime Video content
Why We Like It
PureVPN has geographically diverse servers, a dedicated IP, and a strong privacy policy. It doesn't have the best performance statistics but it certainly doesn't have the worst. It's somewhere in the top half.
PureVPN boasts an outstanding network of international VPN servers and this helps with performance. It also has a whole bunch of useful features to help you stay protected online and use its interface with ease. So PureVPN isn’t the absolute fastest but it is one of the best thanks to its mix of competitive performance and an attractive design.
PureVPN is going to cost you around £2.35 a month which is really good value compared to some of the other VPNs in this list. The main negative is that it's slightly tricky to access U.S. Amazon Prime content with PureVPN, as you have to first select Stream Mode then connect to a United States server. We aren't saying this should put you off though, because even though it's trickier, it's still pretty straightforward.
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NordVPN
Best For Privacy
The Good & The Bad
- Solid performance
- Very easy to access US Prime Video content
- Free trial
- Not the most simple interface design
Why We Like It
NordVPN is able to supply a connection that doesn't reduce connection speed due to its large number of servers and locations — 5100 servers in 62 countries around the world.
NordVPN is also a strong contender when selecting a VPN to access U.S. content due to its stance on security. With a selection of offerings that boost protection, traffic passes through two separate VPN servers and NordVPN operates a ‘no logs’ policy, meaning your data should be secure.
The best NordVPN price we can find is around £2.29 per month. That's really cheap, especially when you consider that NordVPN is an all-round solid VPN and the easiest choice when it comes to accessing U.S. Prime Video content. All you need to do is connect to a U.S. server with NordVPN, and that's it.
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Topics Prime Video Cybersecurity Streaming
Joseph Green is the Global Shopping Editor for Mashable. He covers VPNs, headphones, fitness gear, dating sites, streaming, and shopping events like Black Friday and Prime Day.
Joseph is also Executive Editor of Mashable's sister site, AskMen.
