France is a remarkable country that is renowned for many amazing things, some of which include its classic French cuisines, the Louvre Museum, and the magical Eiffel Tower. Despite getting to enjoy all these wonders regularly, however, one thing France residents can’t enjoy is the US Netflix. With the French Netflix library falling short of the American version in terms of titles and content variety, this is a problem the French people constantly seek to solve.
Fortunately, there’s an effective solution – a VPN. But while this tool could help you evade Netflix restrictions, the wrong VPN service could leave you looking foolish. Apart from needing to choose the best VPN provider for Netflix, you also need some know-how. So, if you have questions regarding how to watch American Netflix in France, this guide is full of answers. We’ve not only given profound insights into how a VPN works; we’ve also recommended the best ones.
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Our Top VPN Recommendation for Netflix USA
With so many advertising gimmicks from VPN providers nowadays, you can easily go with the wrong option. To help you choose the best VPNs for watching US Netflix in France, we’ve reviewed the best options for the task.
NordVPN
Widely labeled as the best VPN provider out there, NordVPN is an incredible option if you want to get American Netflix in France. Truly, Netflix has been making things difficult for providers in recent years, but everything becomes effortless with NordVPN. It offers everything you may be looking for, ranging from a large server network to a fast connection speed.
To be honest, the 5000+ servers that this provider offers is nothing short of remarkable. Of course, this is the highest number of servers by any service. And it means your options are endless when it comes to server selections. More impressively, the servers are spread across dozens of countries across many continents, making sure you never miss an episode of your favorite shows.
The company also offers good customer support, which is aided by the new 24/7 live-chat feature. It’s also worth noting that the plans are extremely affordable. Plus, the variety of plans on offer means you can always find the right package for you.
PureVPN
PureVPN is one of the cheaper options out there, but the amount of value it delivers will pleasantly surprise you. Indeed, you get more than what you pay for with this service. With its great network coverage, decent speeds, and generally stable service, we assure you it’s a provider you can rely on.
You’d agree that one of the biggest nightmares of VPN users is running out of data, right? That’s not an option with PureVPN, amazingly. Users get to enjoy unlimited bandwidth usage, so you can stream all day and all night.
Another attractive thing about PureVPN is the variety of packages it allows you to choose from. Whether you’re looking for a cheap, short term plan or you’re aiming at a longer plan, you’ll find something. The service is compatible with a wide range of devices and allows up to 5 simultaneous connections.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is another strong contender for the best VPN provider in the world. With its vast server network, blazing speeds, impeccable support for Netflix, and its high-quality customer support, it’s difficult to ignore its claims. If you are looking for something to help you enjoy your favorite series and movies without glitches, you can always count on this service.
While it’s some way behind NordVPN in terms of server count, this VPN covers more than 90 countries. This is more than what NordVPN or any other VPN covers. Also, the company offers servers that have been specialized for Netflix, which highlights its unbelievable dedication to satisfying customers.
Speaking of customer satisfaction, this provider is second to none in this category. Its support lines are available 24/7 and there are comprehensive guides on its website. It’s not the cheapest option out there, we must admit, but it does offer great inducements. For every 12-month plan you buy, you’ll get a 49-percent discount, along with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
How to Watch Netflix USA in France with a VPN
As a France resident, you don’t have to wait until you get to the United States before enjoying US Netflix. Using a capable VPN service, you can access the richest catalog on Netflix. Things don’t need to be difficult to set it up either. You simply need to follow the instructions below:
- Register with one of the best VPNs that we’ve recommended.
- Download the VPN application on your device.
- Once the app is installed, open it and log into your account.
- Find the list of the servers and pick your preferred US server.
- Open the Netflix application or log in to their website, depending on your preference.
- You can now effortlessly watch American Netflix in France.
While a VPN is an excellent way of viewing out-of-country content, not every VPN is capable of doing the work. That’s nothing to worry about though as the providers in our recommendation are the most reliable when it comes to getting past geo-restrictions.
American Vs. French Netflix
Before diving into the nitty-gritty of escaping Netflix restrictions, we feel a need to explain the difference between American and French Netflix. To be honest, the difference between both libraries is pretty clear.
The US Netflix library has about 5,900 TV shows and movies, but the French library only offers about 1,600, which shows a considerable contrast. With these numbers, the French people can’t watch around 73 percent of the content available to Americans.
Immediately you log into the Netflix app, it will automatically direct you to your country’s local version. So, it doesn’t even matter if your account was registered in the US – your current location is what matters. The content that will be available to you each time you log in will depend on the country from which you are logging in.
Thankfully, a Virtual Private Network has proven to be more than an effective solution. Whether you’re in France or Liberia, you can always access American Netflix with a VPN.
How Does Netflix Detect Non-American Residents?
When you connect your mobile device, computer, or any other kind of device to the internet, it is given a unique IP address. Basically, the IP address works pretty much like the mailing address of your home. So, it gives a reference point for the data that is received and sent by your browsing device.
Every country worldwide has a variety of IP addresses and these addresses are used for identifying the browsing devices used within their borders. Apparently, Netflix and other websites have a list of the different addresses used in different countries around the world.
So, they use those IP addresses to detect the country where every connection is originating. As soon as it detects the country from which the connection is being originated, it then channels the connection to the appropriate content for that region.
How a VPN Lets You Get Past Netflix’s Restriction
A VPN is an incredible tool that is capable of many things, some of which include protecting your online activities and encrypting your traffic on the internet. While the former is probably the most popular function of a VPN, our primary focus here has to do with the latter. With this capability, a VPN helps camouflages your original location and lets you appear as if you are connecting from a different country.
To do this, it reroutes your data via one of its servers in the country you’ve chosen to be appearing from. Then, it sends it to the website you are looking to visit. This procedure means your original IP address will be replaced by the IP address of the server you have connected to.
Typically, most VPN providers have servers all over the world. This makes it easy for them to redirect your data via a server in a country like the United States. When your traffic travels via this server, it will appear as if it’s originated from the United States to Netflix. Subsequently, they will automatically direct you to the American library.
Can I Unblock US Netflix from France With a Free VPN?
We don’t recommend using free VPNs for Netflix. Except in a couple of rare cases, trying to unblock Netflix with a free VPN will be a futile effort, showing you a proxy error in most cases. But even if you luckily come across a free VPN that hasn’t been blacklisted by Netflix, it will be too slow for video streaming.
Also, free VPNs have a tendency of being less secure compared to paid ones. To generate revenue, they usually collect users’ information and sell to data brokers and advertisers. In fact, some free providers even pose a risk of malware.
Whereas, paid VPN providers have the business incentives and resources to maintain Netflix-unblocking servers regularly. Therefore, we recommend you to stick to one of the best paid VPNs instead of taking your chances with a free service that could cause more harm than good.
Final Thoughts
As you must have found out by now, it’s not impossible to watch US Netflix in far-away France. However, while finding out how to watch American Netflix in France is one thing, knowing the right VPN to use is another thing.
To help you out and half your work, we have found and recommended the best VPNs out there. Whether you are a permanent resident of France or you are just vacationing in the country, you no longer have valid excuses for missing your favorite movies and shows.
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