What is the best VPN in New Zealand? That is a hard question to answer, and everyone has a different on what the best VPN for New Zealand. Our reviews are done in New Zealand using the VPNs that we test. We pay for the VPNs and do not accept free trials. Our rankings change based on testing new VPNs and VPNs changing their functionality.
Best New Zealand VPN
Why get a New Zealand VPN?
Many websites from apartments.com to Netflix location restrict you. Apartments.com does not allow you to log in from a New Zealand IP address and manage your rental. Streaming services like Netflix have a different catalog of shows and movies for New Zealand than other regions in the world, and they do not include many shows that are available in the US/Europe. Using a VPN makes it appear that you are in the country that you select and allows you to access the programming.
Another reason to use a VPN is to do web searches in your home country. If you search on google without a VPN, the results are tailored to New Zealand. If you search with a VPN, you will get the same results you are used to getting. I find at least once a week that I am switching to a VPN to get the google search results that I want from the US. This is especially helpful if you are purchasing something in your home country.
Many people talk about the increased security with a VPN. I am not going to really touch this. My opinion is that instead of my internet service provider seeing my search traffic, a third party company is. This means that I am trusting my data to a third party company. I would not use a free VPN service for this reason. VPN services have to make money somehow, and if a company has all my internet usage data that is potentially a way for them to make money.
Problems with New Zealand VPNs
Unfortunately, not all VPNs are equal. There are two main problems that you will run into with a VPN, speed, and not getting access to the location restricted sites you got a VPN to give you access to.
New Zealand is literally at the end of the world for the Internet. This can make accessing websites based in other countries slower than you are used to. When you use a VPN based in the United States, the data goes to the server of the VPN in the United States than to the server of the website you are using then back to the VPN’s server, then back to your computer in New Zealand. All the data transfers can lead to noticeably slow websites and streaming that buffers, not playing the highest quality video.
The second issue you can run into is that some services try to block access when using a VPN. Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Netflix are three services that do this. This means that all VPNs might not work for these services. New Zealand has declared that it is not against the law to use a VPN to access these services, but it might be against the terms and conditions of the service.
Best New Zealand VPN Reviews
Below are the VPNs that I have used, trying to find the perfect one. One thing to be aware of is that VPN services often give a commission to people that refer them, customers. When you search VPNs, many of the websites that appear near the top of the search results are specifically designed to get commissions. Some of my links may be affiliated links, and I may get a commission if you sign up using one of them. If I have an affiliated link did not impact the review.
The speed tests in the reviews were done using http://www.speedtest.net/. Providers like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime frequently change their tactics that they use to prevent VPNs from allowing you access, and there is a chance that this information could change in the future. Almost all VPNs have an auto-renew feature. I recommend that one of the first things that you do when you sign up is turn off auto-renew.
Surfshark VPN
Speed 7/10
Surfshark offered some of the most consistent speed of any New Zealand VPN that we tested. It was not as fast as ExpressVPN but was fast enough to stream videos without an issue.
Access 8/10
Computer iPad
Amazon Prime: yes Amazon Prime: No
Netflix: yes Netflix: yes
Hulu: yes Hulu: yes
Surfshark provided the most access to any VPN that we tested. A significant advantage to Surfshark is that it was able to provide access to Amazon Prime which many VPNs are not able to. It also provided access to BBC iPlayer without an issue. I did have a couple of times when using the FireTV app that I would need to switch servers to get one that would access Netflix.
Cancellation Policy 8/10
Surfshark has a no questions asked 30-day cancellation policy. When I canceled, I found that they did ask a couple of questions, but it was straightforward to cancel via chat. You can also email to cancel, but that does take a couple back and forth emails to complete.
Overall 8/10
I use Surfshark as my daily VPN. It is fast enough that I am comfortable connecting it to my router on my home network. One advantage to Surfshark is that they allow an unlimited number of devices to be connected at once, unlike many VPNs that have a 3-4 device limit. Read our complete Surfshark VPN review for a more detailed analysis.
ExpressVPN
Speed 8/10
ExpressVPN offered functioning speed more than any other service. The speed did not get as fast as NordVPN, but it was 30-60mbps most of the time. It also had the least amount of low-speed issuers of the VPNs that I tested.
Access 5/10
Computer iPad
Amazon Prime: No Amazon Prime: No
Netflix: yes Netflix: yes
Hulu: yes Hulu: yes
ExpressVPN did not work with Amazon Prime either on mobile or a computer. They claim on their website that they do work with it, but I was not able to get it to function. I did not have an issue with Netflix or Hulu. They have a FireTV app, and it works well, but it does not give access to Amazon Prime.
Cancellation Policy 7/10
They offer a 30-day cancellation policy. They do call it a risk-free trial, but you do pay for it. You can cancel by the chat function. They submit a request, and it takes several days for it to go through.
Overall 7/10
If I did not use Amazon Prime, this is the service that I would use. It offers more consistent speed compared to the other services that I tested. The speed is fast enough that this is the one VPN that I tested that I would put on my router. One downside compared to the other services is that you can only connect three devices to the VPN at once. If you do not connect your router, there is a chance that you will run into the cap. ExpressVPN’s apps function well and are well designed and simple to use. Read our complete ExpressVPN review.
NordVPN
Speed 5/10
NordVPN was the VPN in the test that was the most inconsistent, having the fastest and slowest speed in the test. At times it had blazing fast speed, and you could not tell that you were using a VPN. It also had times where it was so slow that normal webpages could not load and you could not stream videos. NordVPN worked at a functioning speed most of the time, but it was frustrating when it did not operate at a functioning speed. The speed tests did not do a good job of showing the slow speeds experienced sometimes.
Access 7/10
Computer iPad
Amazon Prime: No Amazon Prime: No
Netflix: yes Netflix: yes
Hulu: yes Hulu: yes
NordVPN worked well for Netflix and Hulu. The performance with Amazon Prime was mixed. It worked well with one out of two computers that I tested it on, but it did not work on an iPad or iPhone. I use Amazon Prime to download content on my tablet, and it not working on the tablet is a big negative for me.
NordVPN has a FireTV app that can be downloaded onto FireSticks or FireTV. It allowed access to Netflix and Hulu, but it did not grant access to Amazon Prime content. I tried over 10 separate times to connect to the USA server on the app and was only able to connect once. The one time I did connect, it did not give access to Netflix. I was able to connect to the UK and Canada servers easily, and I was able to access Netflix through them. The speed was usable a lot of the time, but not always.
Cancellation Policy 6/10
They offer a free 7-day trial, but you are required to input your credit card information, and if you do not cancel before the seven days they charge your card for a three-year membership. NordVPN gets negative points for this since I think that it is underhanded. They also offer a 30-day money back guarantee that does stack with the free trial. You can cancel by the chat function that is available on their website
Overall 6/10
NordVPN was inconsistent. The speed was so slow at times that you could not stream videos. This outlays the fact that the speed was blazing fast at other times. It was also frustrating that Amazon Prime worked on some devices, but not others. NordVPN was the first VPN that I tried when I moved to New Zealand, and the performance made me want to do this test and compare it to other services. Read our complete NordVPN review.
IPVanish
Speed 6/10
IPVanish was medium to slow in the speed test. It was never the fastest VPN, and one time, it was the slowest VPN. Despite the numbers not looking good, it did function pretty well. I did not have issues with streaming videos buffering and not loading, even though the speed was not the fastest.
Access 5/10
Computer iPad
Amazon Prime: No Amazon Prime: No
Netflix: yes Netflix: yes
Hulu: yes Hulu: yes
The access is pretty much the same as ExpressVPN. No access to Amazon Prime, but access to Netflix and Hulu. It also has a FireStick app which functions well but also does not have Amazon Prime access.
Cancellation Policy 8/10
You are given a 7-day cancellation policy to get a refund. This is the most restrictive policy of the four VPNs I reviewed, but you will know within 7 days if the VPN will work for you. The one positive is that they automatically refund you if you cancel within the first 7 days. You do not need to chat to cancel, click a few buttons. It is really easy to cancel.
Overall 6/10
IPVanish has most of the same access limitations as ExpressVPN, and in the 10-speed test that I did, it was slower than ExpressVPN in 8 of them. The one advantage that IPVanish has over ExpressVPN is that it does allow you to connect five devices at once, compared to the three of ExpressVPN. IPVanish would not be my first choice of provider. I did have one time where IPVanish stopped responding, and I had to quit the app and restart it.
PureVPN
Speed 6/10
PureVPN did not have really fast speed, but it did have functional speed most of the time. There were times when using a browser was slow, but I was still able to stream video most of the time.
Access 5/10
Computer iPad
Amazon Prime: yes Amazon Prime: yes
Netflix: No Netflix: No
Hulu: yes Hulu: yes
PureVPN provided access to Hulu and Amazon Prime on computers and mobile devices. It did not provide access to Netflix, even though it claims to on their website. This was the only VPN that I tested that worked with Amazon Prime on all devices. They have a FireTV app which works with FireSticks. It works with Hulu and Amazon Prime, but not Netflix.
Cancellation Policy 3/10
You have to signup and pay for the service, but they have a 31-day cancellation policy. It is hard to cancel PureVPN. You have to contact them multiple times, and it is a process that takes several days and a lot of questions. This is a big negative and a giant pain. You have to go through the same process for getting the refund.
Overall 6/10
PureVPN is the only VPN that did not give access to Netflix. Their speed was lower on the list compared to some of the other VPNs. I had the most issues with their apps, having to restart my computer once since the app would not quit. There is also chatter online that they are not the most secure VPN available and do not live up to all their security claims. Saying that I still keep membership to PureVPN because it is cheap and gives me access to Amazon Prime. If I did not want access to Amazon Prime, I would not use PureVPN. Read our complete PureVPN review.
What do you think is the best New Zealand VPN?
