Best VPN for Austria: Simulate an Austrian IP-Address

Are you missing Austria? You may be able to quell your homesickness with local entertainment from the country's media libraries. Unfortunately, many providers prevent access to this content from abroad meaning that you have to be in Austria to access Austrian content. Luckily, you can bypass these region restrictions with a VPN.

These help to access the Internet anonymously and browse content with a virtual signature that doesn't necessarily correspond with where you physically are. As such, it becomes possible to digitally show that you're in Austria from anywhere in the world, thus bypassing annoying region restrictions. Two important factors to pay attention to are whether your chosen VPN provider has servers in Austria and if its connection speeds are conducive to video streaming.

Borrowing an Austrian IP address offers a few advantages:

If you'd like to access Austria content, a VPN might be a worthwhile investment. However, not every VPN excels in each region, or even country.

When selecting the best VPNs for accessing Austrian content from our EXPERTE.com VPN review, we took three factors into account: In addition to a good overall score in our VPN ranking, we considered how well the servers performed in Austria, and whether we were able to bypass region restrictions on Austrian media libraries.

We test the performance of the servers from our sample daily, with the results visible under the "Performance" heading. To assess streaming capability, we used the ORF, ServusTV, and ATV media libraries. If looking for further information about the compatibility of each with international streaming platforms, be sure to consult our detailed reviews of the best VPNs for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+.

Based on these factors, we recommend the following providers:

ProtonVPN won us over with excellent VPN clients, various features, and high security. Their service also offered our favorite free VPN provider, although it isn't possible to connect to servers in Austria with this.

However, if you're a Plus subscriber, ProtonVPN will allow you to access all sorts of Austrian content. This is because the provider has a total of 16 servers within the country (6 of which are included in the less expensive Basic plan, which isn't suited for streaming). And they don't just get the number of servers right—ProtonVPN comes out on top in our speed test for Austrian servers, and reliably bypasses otherwise restricted content on ORF, ServusTV, and ATV.

Overall, their server network is fairly small compared to those of other providers, and in our general speed test, Proton VPN was in the middle of the pack. This means that there were a few better all-around providers from our sample. All the same, ProtonVPN is our number one recommendation for users looking for the best VPN to stream content from Austria.

NordVPN took first place overall in our VPN review. They offer what we consider the best overall package, combining user-friendliness, high performance, top security, and plenty of features. In our general speed test, NordVPN emerged on top, with the provider picking up points for extra features such as different server categories and integrated malware protection. We also like their elegant app which includes a scrollable world map.

Of their more than 5,400 servers worldwide, 33 are located in Austria. In our Austrian speed test, NordVPN came in just behind Proton VPN, while also reliably bypassing region restrictions on ORF, ServusTV, and ATV.

Surfshark claimed a very respectable 3rd place in our overall comparison, as well as EXPERTE.com's award for the VPN with the best price-performance ratio, delivering great value at a low cost. In comparison to the 4th place VPN on this list, you'll pay less than one-third as much per month. For that, you'll get excellent performance and an intuitive app loaded with features.

Surfshark's server network isn't as extensive as those of its higher-ranking competition, however, it still manages to offer an impressive 3,200 servers in 65 countries. There's only one location in Austria (we don't know exactly how many servers are available). That being said, Surfshark's speeds are excellent, and we were able to bypass region restrictions on Austrian media libraries without issue.

ExpressVPN is significantly more expensive than many of the other services in our sample, however, you will get what feels like a premium VPN. Their platform delivers excellent performance, a high-quality app, and a huge server network. That being said, in light of their high subscription fees, ExpressVPN could offer some additional features. All told, their service doesn't really offer more than the basics.

ExpressVPN ranked 4th in the Austrian speed test, and we were able to access content from the country's media libraries without any problems. There is only one location in Austria, but Express VPN doesn't reveal the number of servers this represents.

If you want to access Austrian content and are willing to pay a bit more for a high-quality, complete VPN package, ExpressVPN is a decent choice.

Mullvad VPN didn't make it into the upper echelon of our comprehensive VPN review, mainly due to its relatively small server network, lack of features, and rather disappointing support. On the other hand, its solid performance and excellent security standards, which include regular external audits, did impress us.

Out of Mulllvad VPN's more than 700 servers, 10 are in Austria, or more specifically, Vienna. In the Austrian speed test, these came in 5th, just behind ExpressVPN, largely attributable to their significantly weaker upload speeds. On the plus side, we were able to access Austrian media libraries without any problems.

You've selected a VPN provider? There's not much left to do before you can circumvent Austrian region restrictions. Here, we'll show you how to do this using the top service from our assessment, NordVPN*:

Step 1: Install and open your provider's VPN client.

Step 2: Scroll through the country list for Austria, and click or tap on the server to establish a VPN connection.

Step 3: Now that you're connected to an Austrian server, you should be able to access streaming content or media libraries as though you were in the country.

We signed up for a premium subscription with all 27 providers from our sample, making it possible to extensively test the features of each. Reviews were divided into several sections, all of which are briefly described below:

A VPN client makes it possible to access the provider's server network, so it should be intuitive and inconspicuous. In addition to how easy a platform was to use, we also looked for a balanced set of features. We value VPN services that seamlessly combine foolproof operation with advanced settings and features.

There are two important numbers when it comes to a server network: How many servers it includes, and how many countries it has a presence in? Of course, when evaluating the best VPN services for Austria, we looked specifically at the number of servers for the Alpine country.

In our speed test, we measure performance based on connections to servers in the US and Germany. For Austria, we tested the performance of each provider's Austrian servers. The Top 10 at the time of our review can be found here:

When grading performance, it's equally important to consider the provider's streaming capability. The following table shows which providers from our sample were able to access region-restricted content from which Austrian media libraries.

VPNs promise the moon when it comes to their users' privacy. For that reason, we take a closer look at each's privacy policies and practices to reveal whether there are any causes for concern. Of course, we also pay attention to the services' overall security profiles, from VPN protocols to encryption.

So far as customer support is concerned, we value two things: A solid help center that is full-text searchable and contains informative guides, as well as straightforward ways to contact support staff directly. Every service should offer email support, but live chat is even better. When contacting providers via email, we expect a response within 24 hours.

These Top 5 are the best VPN services when it comes to accessing otherwise region-restricted content from Austria; each allows you to take a "virtual trip" to the Alps when you can't be there in person. If you're already in Austria (or anywhere else in the world) and are simply looking for a reliable VPN provider, here's a ranking of the best providers from our EXPERTE.com VPN review:

If you're not in Austria, but want an uncomplicated (and legal) way to access Austrian content, a VPN service is the most practical solution. However, not every VPN can reliably bypass geoblocking on platforms such as ORF TVthek or ServusTV. The Top 5 VPN providers from our list will help bring you closer to Austria, even if you're on the other side of the world, by enabling access to region-restricted content.

You can find detailed reviews of individual providers in our EXPERTE.com VPN review.