The US and Canada are neighbors, about one hour away from each other. Yet, that doesn’t count for much to Amazon, as Canadians can’t access the US Amazon Prime Video, despite their proximity. That means Canadians can’t access some popular movies like Red Oaks, Man in the High Castle, and the Grand Tour. Needless to say, that doesn’t sit well with Canadians, which is why they’re always looking for how to watch US Amazon Prime in Canada.
If you this sounds like you right now, you have come to the right page, fortunately for you. Since geo-restrictions are the cause of your inability to access the American library, a VPN offers a convenient way out. But, that’s not where it ends, as you also need some know-hows to unblock your favorite American content. In this guide, we’ve detailed everything you might need to know when getting past the geo-restrictions.
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Our Top VPN Recommendations for Amazon Prime Video
In your bid to start watching US Amazon Prime Video in Canada, figuring out a VPN works for it is only half of the solution. To completely solve the problem, you also need to figure out the ideal VPN provider to entrust with the task.
NordVPN
To be honest, it’s difficult to ignore NordVPN, especially when you consider its whooping server network of 5400+ servers. Apart from that, the VPN just happens to give you access to Amazon Prime, which makes it even more incredible. In fact, the company has a handful of VPN servers that they have specialized to unblock Amazon Prime.
And if you ever face any difficulty, you only need to check their knowledge base. There, you’ll find updates on servers that are currently working with the streaming company. If that isn’t convenient for you, you can simply contact their customer support. Speaking of customer support, NordVPN offers an incredible quality of support, one of the best in the industry.
Apart from providing helpful guides to solve problems independently, the support representatives are also responsive. The VPN provider is also trustworthy, maintaining a strict no-logging policy. Not only that, but the service is also fast, suitable for P2P and HD streaming. The plans are also attractively priced, and every plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
ExpressVPN
With its fast speeds, reliable customer support, and vast server network of 3000+ servers, ExpressVPN is another solid option. Thanks to the incredible speeds of this provider, you can’t be worried about it slowing down your streaming. The fast speeds allow you to have the highest streaming quality possible, making this a great choice for distant locations.
Impressively, Amazon Prime Video works excellently on ExpressVPN’s US servers. But, this can change sometimes, so just hit up their 24/7 live chat support if you encounter a server downtime. You also don’t need to be worried about device compatibility. ExpressVPN is compatible with different operating systems like Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, and Linux.
It even offers extensions for Firefox and Chrome, and provides a dedicated application for Amazon Fire TV Stick. While the service is on the expensive side, there’s a 49 percent discount on the 12-month plan. Also, every plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
PureVPN
PureVPN is another solid option if you are looking to get US Prime Video in Canada. It boasts a decent network server network, which helps to improve performance considerably. Besides, the speed is also decent, allowing you to stream endlessly without needing to constantly battle the issue of buffering.
The company has more than 6,000 servers, dispersed over 78 countries around the world. The geographical distribution is especially impressive as you have more options as regards where you can appear to be in. To access US Amazon Prime video, you just need to select Stream Mode, and then connect to a US server.
It’s also worth noting that the service has lots of helpful features to help you remain protected at all times. The plans on offer are also attractive. So, even if there is another factor that’s causing you to rethink, the cheap plans will encourage you.
How to Watch US Amazon Prime Video in Canada with a VPN
Follow the instructions below to unblock Amazon Prime US in Canada.
- Choose one of our recommended VPNs and create an account.
- Download the VPN application on your device.
- Launch the application and connect to a US server.
- Now you can watch the US Amazon Prime Video in Canada.
Keep in mind that it’s not every VPN server that works. So, if they are not labelled, we recommend getting in touch with your provider’s customer service or website. They’ll advice on which server to connect to. Also, things are a little confusing in how users access content on Amazon Prime. You can watch movies and TV shows from Amazon’s main website, or just go to primevideo.com to access them. If your VPN fails to work for the first one, simply try the second.
Why Can’t You Access American Amazon Prime?
While it’s called ‘content discrimination by some people, in our opinion, it’s just business. The company doesn’t want to overpay for distribution rights. And considering the size of the Canadian market in comparison to the American market, their decision is reasonable.
Basically, any platform that wants to watch a movie or show has to purchase its rights. Meanwhile, the more the regions where you want the content to be available, the more money you will pay. That means your failure to pay for a particular region means you mustn’t make the content available in the region.
While this seems unfair on the part of Canadian users, it is what is it. However, there is a solution and this guide is all about that.
How to Access American Amazon Prime in Canada
If you really want to watch American Amazon Prime, then you must fool the company. It sounds odd talking about fooling one of the world’s biggest companies, but it’s not as hard as it sounds. Basically, you just need to be in the United States. Not necessarily physically, but virtually. A VPN exists to help you achieve this.
With a VPN, you can spoof your location and choose to appear in a location that is different from where you are. VPN companies usually have servers in numerous countries, so you just need to choose one of their servers US-based servers. After that, you will appear to Amazon as if you are in the US. However, not every VPN provider is capable of pulling off this trick, so you must be careful.
Can I use a free VPN with Amazon Prime?
While there are many free VPNs around, the fact that they are free does not mean they are worth using. What’s the reason? You might be wondering. It’s actually apparent. Most of these seemingly good free VPNs make you the product they are selling. For the following reasons, we don’t recommend free VPNs.
- Implementation of weak encryption.
- Hiding behind intrusive privacy policies.
- Traffic monitoring and collection of your data.
- Selling your data to third parties.
- Even though they offer you the service for free, they make you the product.
Free VPNs are not safe at all. In fact, the harm they do is more than the good they can ever do, so you must be careful. Apart from being unsafe and harmful, they are also often heavily restricted, making them not suitable for the task.
The few reliable free services would find it almost impossible to access Amazon Prime Video. That’s because they can’t match the company’s unyielding chase of VPN companies. But even if you somehow find a free service that can unblock Amazon Prime, it’s likely to be a stripped-back version, engineered to only give you a little taste of the paid service. Such a service is likely to have restrictions on speed, data, and servers.
If you want to stream your favorite content on Amazon Prime, a free service can cause buffering. The only way to get guaranteed and unrestricted access to the full-capacity library of Amazon Prime is by using one of the paid VPN services on our recommendation. With them, there is no speed or data restrictions.
A good service doesn’t necessarily need to be costly, so there’re great VPNs that you can find at affordable prices. However, there may be no 100 percent guarantee with these services. So, we advise you to exploit the 30-day money-back guarantee that usually comes with most of them.
Final Thoughts
As a Canadian Prime Video user, it’s normal to feel entitled to American content. However, the surrounding factors as regards distribution rights means you can’t be treated the same way as Americans. Thankfully, a VPN provides a reliable solution. If you’re in search of how to watch US Amazon Prime in Canada, your search stops here. From our VPN recommendations to our numerous tips, everything you need has been put on a platter.
James says
Tried all the above, but they still blocked me because of my billing address on the credit card being from Canada. Would need a US credit card issued from a US bank.
Jamie Bell says
Hi James, yes this method works only for the people who already have an Amazon prime video account, such as US people who travel abroad. What you can try is to ask any friend from the US to purchase an account for you, or you can ask them to buy you a US prepaid Visa gift card from Target that you could use to pay for Amazon Prime. As for the address simply use any random US address generator, and fill out that address when registering.