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The Best VPNs for Germany
Our Verdict
NordVPN is our recommended VPN for Germany, with an overall rating of 9.2/10. It has 240 German VPN servers that consistently unblock German streaming sites and deliver the fastest speeds when connecting into Germany from abroad.
The best VPNs for Germany assign you a German IP address and unblock geo-restricted German streaming services like Joyn, Netflix Germany, RTL+, and ZDF from anywhere in the world.
We tested 62 VPNs to identify the services with the most VPN servers in Germany, the fastest speeds connecting into Germany, and the most success unblocking German websites.
Summary: The Best VPNs for Germany
Based on our hands-on tests, the top-rated VPNs for connecting to Germany are::
- NordVPN: Best VPN for Germany Overall
- CyberGhost: Cheap VPN for Germany
- Windscribe Free: Best Free VPN for Germany
Why Trust Us?
We’re fully independent and have been reviewing VPNs since 2016. Our ratings are based on our own testing results and are unaffected by financial incentives. Learn who we are and how we test VPNs.
The Best VPNs for Germany Compared
The table below compares our top-rated Germany VPNs based on their price, German server networks, streaming capabilities, and more:
The Best Germany VPNs Analyzed
1. NordVPN: Overall Best Germany VPN
Ranked #1 out of 62 VPNs for Germany
Cheapest Price $3.29/mo over 2 years See all plans Germany Servers 240 Germany Server Locations Berlin, Frankfurt German Netflix Yes Logging Policy No Identifying Data Compatible with 
Windows
Mac
iOS
Android
Linux
ChromeOS
NordVPN is the best VPN for Germany. It has 240 servers within Germany that easily unblocked geo-restricted German sites in our tests, including Netflix Germany, and delivered the fastest connection speeds into the country.
Germany Server Network
NordVPN has 240 servers in 2 German cities. You can easily get an IP address in Berlin and Frankfurt, covering both the West and East of the country.
This isn’t the biggest German server network on the market, and we’ve noticed that the amount of German servers it operates changes frequently, but it’s still extensive and more than enough for stable connections into Germany.
In our experience, we’ve never encountered any server overloads or inconsistent connections during testing.
Germany Steaming Performance
We tested NordVPN with a number of popular German streaming sites. Here’s how it performed:
German Streaming Service NordVPN Unblocks DAZN Germany No DMAX Yes Joyn Yes Netflix Germany Yes RTL+ Yes Sat 1 Yes ZDF Yes NordVPN unblocks every German streaming service we tested it with except for DAZN. What’s more, every server we used worked with these services, making unblocking German content from abroad easy.
This is useful if you want to watch German TV shows outside of Germany, or if you want to stream the NFL on RTL+.
However, NordVPN’s Smart DNS is not compatible with German streaming services and its browser extensions do not work to unblock German sites like the full VPN.
Germany Speed Performance
NordVPN is the fastest VPN for connecting into Germany. We performed multiple speed tests on our New York server connecting into Germany. We calculated the average speed you can expect is 92Mbps.
This represents a speed loss of only 8% compared to your normal, local connection, which is marginal when accounting for the geographical distance.
This speed enables you to stream German content at maximum picture quality without any loss of FPS.
User Experience & Device Compatibility
NordVPN is available on all popular devices, so you can install it as an app on Windows, macOS, iPhone, and Android, as well as streaming platforms like Fire TV Stick and Apple TV.
Furthermore, you can use its browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge to get a German IP address within your browser window. Or you can install it manually on your router for home-wide compatibility.
NordVPN’s browser extensions makes getting a German IP address simple.
All of these apps are simple to install, visually pleasing, and easy to navigate. But there are some issues, like not being able to manually resize desktop apps. There are also a lot of technical features that newcomers might not ever use because they are not labeled or explained.
Pricing & Free Trials
NordVPN offers excellent value for money at $3.29 per month. This includes the ability to connect to NordVPN on 10 devices at once.
However, the cost of NordVPN’s subscription increases after your first two-year subscription period. Therefore, after your initial subscription, NordVPN becomes one of the most expensive VPNs around.
You can download NordVPN on mobile and sign up for a one-week free trial. Better yet, you can use it for free for a month by signing up and asking for your money-back within 30-days. This is a guaranteed, no-questions-asked refund and essentially functions as a one-month free trial.
2. CyberGhost: Cheap VPN for Germany
Cheapest Price $2.19/mo over 26 months See all plans Germany Servers 1,300 Germany Server Locations Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt German Netflix No Logging Policy No Identifying Data Compatible with - Windows
- Mac
- iOS
- Android
- Linux
CyberGhost is a cheap alternative to NordVPN. It has more servers in Germany than NordVPN, its Smart DNS feature works with German websites, and it has an extended 45-day refund period. However, its speeds are slower than NordVPN and it unblocks fewer streaming sites.
Germany Server Network
CyberGhost has more servers in Germany than any other VPN. The exact number is 1,300 servers across 3 cities, including Berlin, Frankfurt, and Dusseldorf.
CyberGhost has over 1,300 servers across three German cities.
With so many servers in Germany, it’s rare to see CyberGhost’s server load go over 70%. Keeping the congestion this low means there is less chance of running into CAPTCHAs, or your VPN getting detected.
Germany Streaming Performance
CyberGhost unblocked 5 out of the 7 German streaming sites we tested it with. Here are the full results:
German Streaming Service CyberGhost Unblocks DAZN Germany No DMAX Yes Joyn Yes Netflix Germany Yes RTL+ No Sat 1 Yes ZDF Yes Unfortunately, CyberGhost was detected by DAZN and RTL+, making it a bad choice if you want to stream sports on a German IP address. It’s much more reliable with services like Joyn, Netflix, and DMAX.
CyberGhost is also the only VPN with a Smart DNS feature that works to access German websites. You can configure it to a German geolocation and maintain access to a German IP address without ever having to use the VPN.
Germany Speed Performance
Connecting to Germany from the US, we experienced a speed loss of 15%. This is substantial, enough to be noticeable, and is an inferior performance compared to NordVPN.
However, CyberGhost’s average connection speeds into Germany (85Mbps) are still fast enough for Full HD streaming.
User Experience & Device Compatibility
CyberGhost is available on most popular platforms as a ready-to-install app. This includes desktop devices (Windows & macOS), mobile (Android & iOS) and streaming platforms like Fire TV Stick. However, it’s not yet developed an Apple TV app like a lot of leading VPNs.
Although CyberGhost’s apps are functional and quick-to-understand, we’ve encountered connection bugs and a lack of responsiveness from the app. We’ve been forced to relaunch the app a few times, meaning it’s not our favorite when it comes to user experience.
Furthermore, CyberGhost’s browser extensions are dated in design and only have 4 server locations. Thankfully, Germany is included, so you can quickly get a German IP address using CyberGhost on Chrome or Firefox.
Pricing and Free Trials
CyberGhost is one of the best cheap VPNs available. It offers excellent value for money, priced at only $2.19 per month on its long-term deal.
CyberGhost also has the best VPN free trial. You can easily install a genuine free trial on both desktop and mobile devices, getting a German IP address for free for 7 days.
For even more free use, you can take advantage of its 45-day money-back guarantee offer. This is the longest refund period of any VPN.
The Best Free VPN for Germany Analyzed
1. Windscribe Free: Best Free VPN for Germany
Data Cap 10GB Free Germany Servers 2 Germany Server Locations Frankfurt German Netflix Yes US Netflix No Logging Policy No Identifying Data Compatible with - Windows
- Mac
- iOS
- Android
- Linux
Windscribe Free is the most reliable free VPN for changing your IP address location to Germany. It has 2 free servers in Frankfurt that easily unblock all German websites and streaming services.
Although it is 100% free and safe to use, its overall performance is significantly worse than NordVPN and CyberGhost because its speeds are slower and its 10GB data cap restricts you to around 4 hours of streaming.
Germany Server Network
You can get a German IP address by connecting to either of Windscribe Free’s two German servers. Both are based in Frankfurt, but The ‘Frankfurt – Wurstchen’ server is a 10Gbps server, with greater bandwidth and faster speeds.
No other free VPN offers this many servers in Germany. But we’d still like to see more city options made available, so that servers are spread more evenly across the country.
Germany Streaming Performance
Here are the results of Windscribe Free’s German streaming tests:
German Streaming Service CyberGhost Unblocks DAZN Germany Yes DMAX Yes Joyn Yes Netflix Germany Yes RTL+ Yes Sat 1 Yes ZDF Yes Windscribe Free unblocked all geo-restricted German streaming websites we tested it with, including Netflix Germany, Joyn, RTL+, and DAZN Germany. It is the only VPN to achieve 100% unblock rate for German streaming services.
However, Windscribe’s 10GB data cap only allows you to enjoy this content for around 4 hours in Full HD. Therefore, its usefulness as a streaming VPN is limited.
We streamed German TV using Windscribe Free.
Germany Speed Performance
Windscribe’s servers delivered the fastest speeds of any free VPN connecting into Germany.
Our speed tests measured an average speed loss of 20% connecting to Germany from the US. This is 10% better than the second fastest free VPN, PrivadoVPN.
However, this speed performance is still inferior to many VPNs, including the premium version of Windscribe. As a result, we did occasionally experience poor picture quality and low FPS when streaming from German sites.
User Experience & Device Compatibility
Windscribe Free is easy to use despite being full of additional features. Every feature is labeled and the interface is intuitive. You can also install it on as many devices as you want, enabling you to connect to a German IP address on every device you own.
We used the VPN’s native apps for macOS, Windows, Android, iOS and Fire TV to do so, as well as its completely free Chrome and Firefox extensions. These extensions are useful if you want to quickly connect to the German web within your browser.
Pricing and Free Access
Windscribe’s free VPN is quick and easy to install. You do need to create an account to access it, but this is common with lots of free services.
Germany VPNs You Should Avoid
We’ve been testing VPNs in-depth since 2016. That means we don’t just know which VPNs to recommend for Germany, we also know which VPNs to avoid.
Below are some popular VPNs that we tested that didn’t make our list. Whether you want a free or paid VPN for Germany, you should avoid the ones below:
IPVanish
IPVanish is a top VPN, but it only has 56 German servers and it’s let down by its streaming performance. We found it couldn’t unblock geo-restricted German streaming sites like RTL+, Joyn, DAZN and Netflix.
Private Internet Access
Private Internet Access (PIA) nearly made our list. It has lots of servers in Germany but it just isn’t as effective at unblocking German streaming sites compared to the VPNs we do recommend.
Proton VPN Free
Proton VPN Free is an excellent free VPN in general, primarily because it doesn’t have a data cap, but it doesn’t have any free servers in Germany.
Surfshark VPN
Surfshark certainly delivers when it comes to unblocking German streaming platforms, but we experienced slow speeds and slow loading times when streaming on its Germany servers.
How to Get a German IP Address Using a VPN
To get a German IP address you need a VPN with servers in Germany. Most paid VPNs include German IP addresses as part of their server network.
Follow the instructions below to change your VPN location and get a German IP address. We use NordVPN in this example, but most VPNs follow the same basic instructions.
You can change your IP address to a German one in a matter of seconds.
Here are step-by-step instructions on how to get a German IP address using a VPN:
- Choose a VPN, subscribe, and download the application for your device. For Germany, we recommend NordVPN.
- Launch the VPN application and open the VPN’s server menu. Scroll through the list of countries until you find Germany, or use the search bar and type in ‘Germany’.
- You can select ‘Germany’ and the VPN will assign you a randomly-selected German server. Alternatively, you can choose a specific city-level server like Berlin or Frankfurt.
- Select the server you prefer and NordVPN will assign you an IP address that’s registered there.
- Once you’ve connected to the German VPN server, you can now browse the internet with a German IP address.
You can get a German IP address in a few seconds when using NordVPN.
How to Watch Netflix Germany from Abroad
All 3 VPNs we recommend on this page can access the Netflix library for Germany.
Netflix Germany shows popular German-language content alongside exclusive English-language content, too.
To watch Netflix Germany from abroad, follow these simple instructions:
- Subscribe to a VPN that has a reliable track record unblocking Netflix Germany. We’ve verified NordVPN as the best choice, because it has consistently unblocked the library for many years.
- Download the app to your chosen device and login with your NordVPN account details.
- Connect to a German server found in the VPNs server network.
- Head to netflix.com/de, login to your netflix, and you’ll now be able to stream geo-restricted content.
If this doesn’t work, you can see what to do when your Netflix VPN isn’t working.
We used NordVPN to stream German shows like ‘Hubert and Staller’ on German Netflix.
How We Test VPNs for Germany
To find the best VPN for Germany, we tested and compared 62 VPNs based on five key testing categories, giving each a sub-rating that contributes to its overall rating for Germany.
Below you can read each VPN’s sub-rating and what we did to arrive at them:
VPNs with a data cap receive a reduction to their overall rating.
Below you can see the exact methodology we used to calculate each VPN’s rating:
1. Germany Server Locations: 30%
- Test Conducted: Counted the number of Germany servers in each VPN’s network, including how many city locations it offers, followed by the use of IP address checker to confirm a successful Germany connection.
- Why It’s Important: You need a German IP address to access German websites, and the more servers a VPN offers, the better its performance is.
- Optimal Result: 100s of Germany servers spread across a number of major cities.
2. Germany Streaming Performance: 30%
- Test Conducted: Tested each VPN with six major Australian streaming sites, including DAZN Germany, Joyn, DMX, RTL+, and Netflix Germany.
- Why It’s Important: Enables access to German streaming sites outside of Germany.
- Optimal Result: Unblocks every Germany streaming site tested.
3. Germany Speed Performance: 20%
- Test Conducted: Performed in-house speed tests to assess each VPN’s download speed when connecting into Germany from various global locations.
- Why It’s Important: Fast speeds enable smooth browsing and buffer-free streaming in high quality resolution.
- Optimal Result: Less than 15% download speed loss connecting to the VPN’s Germany servers.
4. Security & Technical Features: 10%
- Test Conducted: Inspected each VPNs security suite for industry-standard encryption, tested its kill switch, and checked for any IP address or DNS leaks.
- Why It’s Important: IP address leaks can prevent you from unblocking German content abroad, and strong encryption is a necessity for any worthwhile VPN.
- Optimal Result: Zero data leaks, a working kill switch, and a comprehensive security suite with up-to-date encryption.
5. Privacy & Logging Policy: 10%
- Test Conducted: Reviewed each VPN’s privacy policy and assessed its logging policy in accordance with our in-house standards.
- Why It’s Important: Many VPNs store identifying data, which poses a significant privacy risk.
- Optimal Result: No-logs policy evidenced by a court case or third-party audit.
Data Cap Penalty
Data Cap Penalty
Although free services can perform well in our tests, data caps limit your VPNs overall performance.
To reflect this, we’ve apply a penalty to a free VPN’s overall rating based on how harsh its data cap is. It works like this:
- 10GB per month: -20% to the overall rating
- 500MB per day: -25% to the overall rating
- 5GB per month: -30% to the overall rating
- 1GB per month: -35% to the overall rating
- 200MB per day: -40% to the overall rating
- 500MB per month: -50% to the overall rating
With only 10GB of data available per month, we’ve docked 20% off Windscribe Free’s overall score.