How to Change Location with the Best VPNs

One thing we love about ExpressVPN is how often and diligently it refreshes its server network and IP addresses.

It also puts more effort than any other VPN service in achieving a very high degree of location accuracy. When you select a server location, you can be confident you’ll get the correct IP address for your chosen location.

You’d think most VPNs would do this too, however it’s surprising how many don’t. Some services, like Windscribe, often assign you a correct country IP but the wrong location within it.

ExpressVPN’s network spans 109 countries, covering popular locations like the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and India.

As part of a recent infrastructure expansion from 3,000 endpoints to 13,360, the service has added a eye-watering {{us_server_count-expressvpn}} VPN servers in the US to now cover all 50 states (and 57 cities.)

ExpressVPN’s US server list in the iPhone app.

This is why ExpressVPN remains a fantastic choice to bypass American regional restrictions, for example to watch out-of-market NFL games without Sunday Ticket.

We have yet to see a VPN that can match ExpressVPN’s ability to bypass global streaming geo-restrictions. NordVPN comes close, but ExpressVPN maintains a clear lead.

The VPN is particularly effective at unblocking the world’s most popular streaming services, such as Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and HBO Max, to mention a few.

Unblocking major content platforms like these is one of ExpressVPN’s core strengths.

This is not to say that ExpressVPN doesn’t work well with other smaller or international streaming platforms. In fact, it’s almost flawless with them. However, we have seen it struggle with some less common services, such as Kayo Sports and Fubo Canada, for instance.

Truth be told, our experience streaming with ExpressVPN has been awesome. We’ve found that servers connect in a flash and videos start playing almost instantly.

And thanks to the VPN’s fantastic speeds, even over long distances, we’ve almost never had to deal with any frustrating buffering or blurry video.

In all our years of testing VPNs, ExpressVPN has consistently stood out with the most intuitive and visually appealing software.

No matter the device you’re using, or your level of expertise, its well-designed apps make connecting to a VPN server quick and effortless.

The user-friendly home screen and readily available server list mean you will have no problem whatsoever changing your IP location within seconds of launching the software.

ExpressVPN’s versatility is equally unparalleled. In addition to expected apps for phones, computers, and streaming devices, you’ll also get access to a smart DNS proxy (for game consoles) and unique dedicated router app.

The router app is awesome, because it allows you to connect each device on your network to the VPN, and to assign them different IP locations, too!

The VPN’s browser extensions are also very handy and the best in the business. Unlike all others, they act as a remote control for the main VPN app, ensuring all your web traffic is fully encrypted.

They can also fake your HTML5 geolocation, allowing you to access websites that require your location to work properly. Just turn on the “Spoof Your Location” function in the extension’s settings, and you’re good to go.

Right now, no other VPN covers as many countries as NordVPN, giving it an edge over many competitors.

Truth be told, ExpressVPN’s global reach is nearly identical, with both VPN providers offering very similar coverage in Europe, Oceania and the Americas.

Where NordVPN beats ExpressVPN is in its server selection in Africa and the Middle East, offering a much broader range of locations, including Nigeria, Senegal, Jordan and Iraq.

Don’t let the scale of NordVPN’s vast server park fool you, though. The service’s renowned speed and reliability remain as impressive as ever, even across the longest of distances.

ExpressVPN is a better VPN for streaming than NordVPN, but that doesn’t mean that there is a lot of difference between them.

Quite the opposite, both VPNs can unblock almost any geo-restricted streaming platform. If you want to unblock American, Australian, British or Canadian content, NordVPN is just as effective as ExpressVPN.

As we mentioned earlier, NordVPN can even unblock Kayo Sports and Fubo Canada, which ExpressVPN still struggles with. It’s also a fantastic VPN for beating BBC iPlayer’s geo-blocks.

NordVPN works really well with Kayo Sports.

On the flipside, ExpressVPN currently unblocks more Netflix (18 versus 17) and more DAZN regions (12 versus 2).

While NordVPN is undoubtedly a great VPN, its software falls is nowhere near as polished and versatile as ExpressVPN’s.

The mobile apps are well-designed and smooth to use, but the desktop apps are oversized and cluttered. They pack in too many features at once, creating a user interface that’s less clean and intuitive than what we prefer.

Moreover, NordVPN doesn’t offer a dedicated router app, which makes it more difficult to use on devices like game consoles and Roku Sticks.

Unlike ExpressVPN’s straightforward setup (via its VPN router app), you’ll need to either purchase a pre-configured router or manually set up NordVPN on your home router on your own.

Just like its main rivals, Surfshark gives you a great choice of countries, and individual city locations within them. In fact, 11 countries have city-specific options, which is more than what we typically see in a VPN.

The United States is best covered, with 25 separate city choices. It’s not as many as ExpressVPN’s 57, but it’s still way more coverage than the average VPN.

Surfshark’s VPN servers in the US.

It’s also worth highlighting Surfshark’s excellent coverage in India. Its virtual servers not only provide fast and stable speeds from overseas, but also offer reliable access to the country’s geo-blocked content.

Watching the IPL for free was an enjoyable experience, for example, thanks to the VPN streaming JioHotstar’s live content without any major issues.

One thing to note is that while Surfshark’s network of 3,200 servers isn’t the largest on the market, each server’s usage load is capped at 40% to prevent congestion and speed instability.

This helps the VPN deliver good and consistent speeds throughout the day, even during peak traffic times.

Surfshark is one of very few VPNs that can spoof your GPS location on an Android device. Windscribe and IVPN are the only other two VPNs able to do this.

The ‘GPS Override’ function allows you modify your GPS data to match your VPN server location, giving you access to apps that don’t solely rely on IP location to determine where you are.

‘GPS Override’ is very simple to use and incredibly effective.

Setting up Surfshark’s Override GPS Location.

When we activated the feature, it spoofed our GPS data on our Android smartphone to match our VPN server location.

In turn, this allowed us to bypass the geo-blocks on apps using GPS to detect our device’s location, like NFL+ and ESPN+. Not even ExpressVPN or NordVPN offer this technology.

Surshark has always kept its privacy and security standards reassuringly high over the years.

The company has never suffered a breach, has never logged its users’ activities, and all its apps have been secured with the industry-approved technology: ChaCha20 encryption, the WireGuard protocol, and a reliable VPN kill switch.

The kill switch isn’t turned on by default, though, so make sure you enable it immediately after launching the VPN app on your device.

Two additional settings worth highlighting are: ‘Rotating IP’ which changes your IP address every five to 10 minutes without having to switch servers; ‘Multi-hop’ servers which route your internet connection through two VPN servers, rather one, before reaching its intended destination.

Finally, if you want to change your online location but keeping the same IP address every time, Surfshark’s static VPN IPs are some of the best available in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and 10 other countries.

Most free VPNs fall flat when it comes to streaming, but Windscribe is one of the very few exceptions.

We’ve been genuinely surprised by the free service’s impressive ability to bypass the geo-blocks of some of the most popular content platforms in the world.

Windscribe’s free VPN successfully accessed Hulu, HBO Max, DAZN, Prime Video USA, and even 5 Netflix regions from overseas.

And this impressive performance held up across all its apps, including on Firestick and Apple TV.

Of course the service, being free, isn’t without its limitations. Server connection times aren’t as immediate as with VPNs like ExpressVPN, and VPN speeds fluctuate enough to cause frustrating blurs during live streams.

But for a service that costs nothing, these are minor trade-offs for most people.

We should also call out its browser extensions, which include an HTML5 location spoofer, and the integrated GPS spoofer in the Android app, which you won’t find in any other free VPN.

Another consideration that made us choose Windscribe over other good free VPNs, like Proton VPN, PrivadoVPN and Hide.me, is the range of extra functions you get for free.

In addition to the GPS data spoofer, there are several other features that will enhance your internet privacy and security: diskless servers, multi-hop servers (only via the desktop apps and browser extensions), MAC address spoofing, and a Firewall that blocks all networking activity to prevent accidental IP leaks.

Windscribe’s security settings on its macOS app.

Windscribe’s free plan has significant limitations for anyone who wants to stream.

Its speed fluctuations can heavily compromise streaming quality, in our case leading to blurriness and even buffering, especially during popular live sporting events.

This is compounded by the 10GB monthly data cap, which will run out after roughly four hours of HD streaming.

If you’re an avid streamer, and can afford it, the best solution to these issues is to get a subscription-based VPN, like ExpressVPN or NordVPN.

However, if you’re on a tight budget, you could extend your viewing time by using another streaming-friendly free VPN, like PrivadoVPN, once your data runs out. Or, signing up to Surfshark, which is one of the cheapest VPNs on the market.