Despite this restriction, you can watch Hulu from anywhere as long as you have a VPN. The short step-by-step guide below will tell you how: Hulu is an American streaming service with many different films and series. It’s perfect for when you’ve seen all you wanted to see on Netflix and other streaming services. The only drawback is that Hulu is only available to users located in the United States and Japan. Luckily, there’s a way to access the platform from other locations, as well.
Why Can’t I Watch Hulu in My Country?
Hulu only allows users from the US and Japan to access their content. By checking your IP address, Hulu can directly see where you’re from. Based on this location, they decide whether or not to block your access to their platform. If you’re not in the United States or Japan, you will see the following error message:
As you can see in the error message, Hulu does not have the rights to make its service available worldwide. Broadcasting rights need to be bought and are usually sold per country or region. Without these rights, services like Hulu and Netflix aren’t allowed to show content to their users in certain countries. The Hulu app (which is available for Android, iOS, and Windows) is also blocked outside the United States and Japan. The tip below on how to watch Hulu outside the U.S. and Japan works best if you watch Hulu using the browser on your computer. By using a VPN and a separate Google Play Store, Apple, or Windows account set to the US (which often means using an American credit card), you can download the Hulu app. However, this is quite difficult to do for those who don’t have access to an American credit card.
How Do I Subscribe to Hulu When I’m Not in the US?
If you wish to use Hulu, you’ll first need a Hulu subscription. Subscribing to Hulu is quite a struggle for people outside the US and Japan. We’ve tested various ways to get this done. Below, we’ll be explaining the easiest one we found. The easiest way to subscribe to Hulu from anywhere in the world is by using a Hulu gift card. When you go to the Hulu website, the payment options available are an American credit card or an American PayPal account. These options won’t work for many. However, what you can do is buy Hulu gift cards at various gift card shops. This includes MyGiftCardSupply, a popular gift card website.
MyGiftCardSupply accepts PayPal payments, even if your PayPal account is linked to a non-American bank account. Please note that our tester had a verified PayPal account, so you might need one as well to be able to use this trick. Many gift card shops will also allow you to pay with cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. Once you’ve bought the Hulu gift card, you’ll receive an email with a gift card code. You can now use this code on the Hulu website to get a working Hulu subscription.
How to activate a Hulu gift card
After following the steps below, you’ll have a working Hulu subscription in no time.
Watch Hulu Worldwide With a VPN
Once you’ve successfully subscribed to Hulu (or if you already had a subscription to begin with), you’ll still only be able to watch Hulu if you change your virtual location to the United States. You can do this by using a VPN. With a virtual private network (VPN), you can change your IP address into a U.S. IP, no matter where you are in the world. Because of this, VPNs are also used to watch American Netflix from other countries. Most VPN providers offer software that allows you to quickly and easily set up a secure VPN connection. All your internet traffic is encrypted for extra security and sent through a VPN server before being forwarded to its final online destination (Hulu’s website, in this case). Both your identity and your physical location remain hidden, giving you access to websites that were blocked and services around the world, including Hulu.
Best VPNs for Streaming Hulu
There are both free and paid VPN subscriptions available for watching Hulu. Unfortunately, the free options often aren’t fast enough to watch Hulu without any lag or other problems. Moreover, free VPN providers often work with data restrictions, meaning you won’t be able to watch for long before your VPN cuts you off. If you want to have the best watching experience, you’ll need a premium VPN. Below, we’ve compiled the top five best VPNs for watching Hulu. Please note: Using a VPN sometimes goes against the ever-changing terms of use of streaming services. This could be the case for Hulu, as well. If you wish to use a VPN, it’s important to read and acknowledge these terms of use and act accordingly. This is the user’s own responsibility.
1. ExpressVPN: Premium VPN with fast speeds and no lag
If you want the best streaming experience, we recommend ExpressVPN. This VPN is consistently a great option, both for watching Hulu and for anonymous, secure, and free internet browsing in general. With over 20 server locations in the U.S. and three server locations in Japan (out of a total of 3,000+ servers in 94 countries), you’ll be sure to have access to Hulu’s catalog of TV shows and movies. ExpressVPN also provides the fastest server speeds we’ve tested, making it ideal for streaming. On top of this, ExpressVPN constantly stays on top of the technology that unblocks geographically restricted content, such as Hulu TV shows or Netflix movies. The only drawback of ExpressVPN is that it’s quite an expensive service: the high level of quality they offer comes with a price tag. The good news is you can test ExpressVPN by subscribing and making use of their 30-day money-back guarantee. If you’re unhappy with your experience, you can always check out the other VPNs we recommend below.
2. CyberGhost: Streaming-friendly VPN with dedicated servers
CyberGhost is a beginner-friendly VPN that’s highly recommended for watching Hulu because of its dedicated streaming servers. This means CyberGhost offers servers that are optimized for watching films and series; with CyberGhost, you don’t have to suffer through endless buffering or distracting lag. This VPN service lets you connect up to seven devices at once, so the whole family can enjoy Hulu’s offerings without you having to subscribe to multiple VPNs. Like ExpressVPN, CyberGhost offers a money-back guarantee, but this time you get up to 45 days to test out the service. If you want to see what we think of all of CyberGhost’s features, check out our review here.
3. PIA: Privacy-focused VPN with plenty of servers to choose from
Private Internet Access (PIA) has close to 30,000 servers in around 70 countries, which means that not only can you access Hulu on US or Japan servers but also unblock content from all over the world. Are YouTube videos restricted in your area? Website blocked in your country? PIA has you covered. Between the affordable pricing and privacy features, PIA is tough to beat. One drawback, however, is that it doesn’t currently offer live chat support. If you run into problems, you may have to wait a while before they get resolved. During our tests, PIA performed well enough that we didn’t need customer support often. However, it’s still better to have live support available at all times. You can check our full review of PIA to see if it fits your needs.
4. NordVPN: Countless servers for watching Hulu
NordVPN is a secure and popular VPN provider that does particularly well when it comes to unblocking online content. The thousands of servers NordVPN has available are able to give you access to all kinds of platforms, including Hulu. Additionally, NordVPN has user-friendly software, making it quick and easy for any new user to get started. Like other VPN providers, Nord offers a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can test the service out for yourself. To help you decide if NordVPN is for you, you can also read our review here.
5. Surfshark: Best cheap VPN to watch Hulu
An inexpensive yet good VPN provider suitable for watching Hulu is Surfshark. This VPN provider offers many servers, including several in the United States. These servers work effortlessly with Hulu. Moreover, Surfshark allows you to watch the American version of Netflix and use the internet anonymously and safely. Surfshark’s biggest advantage is that it is one of the cheapest VPNs of the moment, without compromising on its quality. In short, you can really count on Surfshark to give you access to Hulu without any problems and for little money. Click on the button in the banner below to head directly to Surfshark’s website. You can also check out our full review of Surfshark to see all its features.
Install a VPN and Watch Hulu Worldwide
According to Hulu’s official website, you can watch Hulu on your tablet, smartphone, and laptop. To do so, you don’t need to install any additional apps — save for your VPN app, that is. When you’re abroad, you can use an American VPN server on your laptop, tablet, or smartphone to access Hulu. Other VPNs, like Kaspersky VPN Secure Connection, also work. If you wish to watch Hulu with ExpressVPN or another VPN, you can follow these steps below:
Hulu: A Wide Range of Films and Series
Netflix is currently one of the most used streaming services in many countries. Sadly, the selection of films and series on Netflix is limited in a lot of countries. In this case, Hulu is a good alternative for both people who want something new and those who would simply like more choices. Hulu has a wide range of series and films that can’t be seen anywhere else. It’s even got a fantastic range of some of the best Christmas movies. Here’s a list of some of the most popular films and series currently available on Hulu:
Atlanta Better Things Black-ish Bob’s Burgers Brockmire Brooklyn Nine-Nine Buffy the Vampire Slayer Difficult People Empire Fresh Off the Boat It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia Killing Eve Lost Parasite PEN15 Please Like Me Ramy Saturday Night Live Seinfeld Shrill The Handmaid’s Tale This Is Us
Besides all these films, shows, and series, Hulu also has agreements with Disney.
