Hotstar has been a promising streaming platform since its inception, showing matches of India’s most popular sport – cricket. But for its fans, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Today, Hotstar has gone beyond just broadcasting cricket matches and shows a range of interesting programs. These include TV shows, movies, music videos and various sports.
The platform is one of the most popular streaming platforms in the country, thanks to its consistent live broadcasting of Indian Premier League matches.
Unfortunately, some of Hotstar’s content is not available for people outside India. In order to enjoy most of the content, you need to have an Indian IP address. Fortunately, you can get around these restrictions by using a virtual private network (VPN).
In this article, we will introduce you to the 5 best VPNs that allow you to use Hotstar’s services.
SurfsharkVPN
The first thing that caught my attention and made me give Surfshark a spot on this list was that they offer unlimited simultaneous connections. I’m not sure how good that is for providers, but for consumers it’s like VPN heaven.
Imagine using the same account for all your devices at home? That’s pretty cool. You might argue that your service would be unreliable in that case. SurfShark has a fairly decent network of servers, consisting of over 800 servers in 50 countries. That’s actually pretty decent for a VPN that hasn’t been around for very long.
Not only that, but the VPN also has a no-logs policy, considering that it is based in the British Virgin Islands. One downside, however, is that I noticed that their app is rather boring. I mean, it’s very plain and simple. If they put more work into it and put a little more effort into their servers, this VPN could soon keep up with the giants.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is one of the fastest and most feature-rich VPNs in the industry. It has over 3,000 servers across 160 server locations in 94 countries. As far as servers in India are concerned, you have three options to choose from all of ExpressVPN’s servers in India support OpenVPN (TCP & UDP), L2TP/IPsec, IKEv2, and the service’s groundbreaking Lightway protocol.
ExpressVPN is often one of the best all-in-one VPNs for streaming, torrenting and gaming. All of this comes with a slightly higher subscription price, but if you’re not satisfied with the service offering within the first 30 days of your plan, you can take advantage of a 30-day money-back guarantee.
NordVPN
NordVPN has the largest army of servers. They have 3517 servers worldwide, 10 of which are installed in India. NordVPN helps users avoid DNS leaks and offers a kill switch feature that pauses streaming when the VPN goes down. NordVPN also offers a full refund for the first 30 days.
PrivateVPN
PrivateVPN is not free, but it does offer a 7-day free trial so you can try it out for free. This also means that you get all the amenities of a premium user without any sacrifices.
It has 150 servers in 60 countries, including all Hotstar locations. You can access all Hotstar libraries and stream different libraries at will and switch between locations. You can bypass the geographic restrictions of other streaming sites, as I was able to watch Netflix, BBC iPlayer, and Hulu in the US with no problem.
Bandwidth and data transfer are unlimited, so there’s no limit to how much you can watch. This also means you get fast speeds and can stream in HD quality. In my tests, I didn’t experience any buffering or lag. With PrivateVPN, you have six simultaneous connections, so you can stream Hotstar at home or on the go.
You get military-grade encryption with AES 256-bit encryption, IP leak protection and multiple security protocols also work in your favor. This includes the most advanced protocol, OpenVPN. An automatic throttle switch and a strict no-logging policy are also in place.
IPVanishVPN
IPVanish is a favorite for those who want extremely fast connection speeds along with strict privacy measures and strong encryption. In our user tests, the service performs exceptionally well for HD video streaming. This makes it a solid choice for accessing Hotstar.
IPVanish offers an extensive global server network with over 1,000 options in more than 60 countries. Several servers are located in India, and there are several other options in Asia.
The encryption standard is robust. By default, IPVanish uses AES 256-bit encryption, SHA512 authentication, and DHE-RSA 2048-bit key exchange with Perfect Forward Secrecy over OpenVPN. The latter ensures that past browsing sessions are safe from intruders, even in the event of a successful intrusion.
IPVanish is a completely log-free service – it does not store any metadata related to timestamps, server preferences or other user behavior.
The app is available for iOS and Android, and as a desktop client for Windows and macOS. Paid accounts allow unlimited simultaneous connections.
How to Use a VPN with Hotstar
If your VPN of choice allows Hotstar streaming, it’s easy to unlock geo-restricted content and access the entire Hotstar library. For hassle-free access to Hotstar content, sign up for one of the 5 VPNs I recommend above and follow the simple steps below.
- Download the software from the website of the VPN provider of your choice and install the VPN on your device.
- Launch the VPN software and select an Indian server that is not blocked by Hotstar. If there are many servers to choose from, it’s worth asking your provider which one is the best.
- Connect to the Indian VPN server of your choice.
- Before you start streaming, clear your cache and browser cookies to remove information from your previous browsing sessions.
- Turn on Hotstar and watch your favorite movies, sports and TV shows!
Frequently Asked Questions
Which free VPN is the best for Hotstar?
If you are from the US, ProtonVPN is the best free option because they have servers there. Otherwise, Windscribe is a good choice because you have multiple server locations to choose from.
Is it legal to watch Hotstar with a VPN?
Yes, it is completely legal to watch Hotstar using VPN.
How can I watch Hotstar for free on my computer?
- Get a VPN and connect to a server in India, USA, UK or Canada.
- Go to the Hotstar website and watch any content that is not marked as premium.
Summary
Hotstar is a coveted entertainment and live streaming platform for many sports and Bollywood fans, but few can access the platform without much effort and additional investment. One way to do so is to use a free VPN service. Of course, finding a service with servers in India that offers high-quality solutions to bypass website blocking systems for free can be a difficult task. This list of paid services gives you the opportunity to watch Hotstar without losing a single dollar from your pocket, so use the provided information and enjoy your favorite streams and movies.
AWSM TIPS
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