How to Watch Chili outside the US: VPN Guide 2026
Long before every studio launched its own monthly app, the Milan-based service Chili bet on a simpler idea: pay only for the film you actually want. Rentals start around three euros, you get 28 days to press play and 48 hours to finish, and once you watch there is nothing left to cancel. A free ad-supported tier and themed FAST channels sit alongside the paid catalog, which Chili also pipes onto Samsung TV Plus. The catch for American viewers is that Chili only operates in Italy, the UK, Germany, Austria and Poland, so a US IP address returns a not-available screen.
The workaround is quick. ExpressVPN swaps your apparent location to a country where the library runs, the catalog of Chili reloads, and you rent titles on your own card exactly like a local. Picture quality reaches 4K on supported films, and film studios such as Warner Bros and Paramount sit among its shareholders. This is not a subscription; it is a smart rental store for specific movie nights.
Can I watch Chili in the US?
Best VPN for Chili
Tested weekly by our team. Green: works, amber: partial, red: blocked.
| VPN Service | Price | Chili | Tested | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
ExpressVPNBEST | From $2.79/mo | ✓ Works | June 11 | Try it |
NordVPN | From $2.99/mo | ✓ Works | June 13 | Open |
Surfshark | From $1.78/mo | ✓ Works | June 11 | Open |
ProtonVPN | From $3.59/mo | ✓ Works | June 11 | Open |
Private Internet Access | From $1.79/mo | ✓ Works | June 12 | Open |
CyberGhost | From $1.75/mo | ✓ Works | June 10 | Open |
IPVanish | From $2.19/mo | ✓ Works | June 8 | Open |
How to Unblock Chili with a VPN
Takes about 2 minutes. Works on your phone, tablet, TV, PC, or laptop.
- Pick a reliable VPNGo with ExpressVPN and its fast European servers. Plans start at $2.79 on the annual term, backed by a money-back guarantee.The yearly plan beats the monthly rate, and Italian servers tend to stay the most stable.
- Connect to an Italian serverChoose a location in Italy, the home market for the rental store. A German server also works if Italy is busy.
- Open the site or appSign in at chili.com or the app, create an account and add a payment card. Registration itself costs nothing.
- Rent a film and playPick a title, confirm the rental and hit play. Supported movies stream all the way up to 4K.
Which countries is Chili available in?
Chili is only available in Italy. To access it from anywhere else, use a premium VPN.
Available in 5 countries No VPN needed
Blocked in 189 countries VPN required
Show all 177 more countries
Chili is blocked in the United States, in Australia, in Canada, in New Zealand and in Ireland, plus in 184 more countries. To access it, use a premium VPN like ExpressVPN.
How Much Does Chili Cost?
Free con pubblicità
- 1 simultaneous stream
- With ads
- No offline downloads
Noleggio film
- 1 simultaneous stream
- Ad-free
- No offline downloads
Who’s behind the service?
What is Chili
Chili is an Italian streaming service run since 2012 by CHILI S.p.A., a company based in Milan. It works differently from Netflix: instead of a recurring subscription, you pay for individual titles. You pick a film or a full season of a show, pay once, and the rental is yours to watch. A rented title stays available for 28 days, and once you press play you have 48 hours to finish it. Alongside that, a free section lets you stream selected movies at no cost in exchange for ads. The catalog spans thousands of films and series, from fresh cinema releases to cult classics, with many titles available in 4K HDR. You can watch on the web, on iOS and Android apps, on smart TVs, game consoles, or through Chromecast, Apple TV and Fire TV. The service also sells DVDs and Blu-rays. Chili is available only in Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland and the United Kingdom.
Company and history
- Giorgio Tacchia and Stefano Parisi launched the Milan-based Chili on a transactional model: no subscription, you pay for each film you rent or buy outright.
- After its home start, the service expanded beyond Italy into Germany, Austria, Poland and the UK, forming the five European markets it still serves.
- At the end of 2017 the Lavazza coffee family bought a roughly one-quarter stake in Chili for about 25 million euros, joining the film studios already on the shareholder list.
- Alongside paid rentals, a free AVOD section arrived: selected films and series can be watched for free in exchange for adverts, with only a sign-up required.
- The Chili library spread beyond its own site: four free film FAST channels launched on Samsung TV Plus in Italy, pushing the brand into the world of linear, channel-style streaming.
- Smart-TV reach grew through the webOS Hub platform and channels inside the LG Channels app, aiming the service straight at the living-room screen.
- The company entered a demanding restructuring aimed at strengthening its organisation and operational sustainability, accompanied by changes at the top.
- The Chili restructuring completed during 2025 and CEO Roberto De Piano is steering an industrial relaunch plan with a renewed shareholder structure: the core stays digital film distribution and catalogue expansion.
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Tips & tricks you should know
5 tips from our Chili testing team · Updated June 13, 2026
- Pick the SD or HD version instead of 4K HDR before you pay: on Chili the price scales with resolution, so a lower tier saves money on the very same title.
- Buy a film outright rather than renting if you plan to rewatch it: purchases stay in your Chili library forever, while rentals vanish after 28 days.
- Explore Chili's free ad-supported section and its six free FAST channels on Samsung TV Plus, which need no account or card to start watching.
- Remember Chili's catch: once you press play on a rental you have only 48 hours to finish, so don't start it until you can actually watch.
- Chili works only in Italy, Germany, Austria, Poland and the UK, so to reach your account or purchases from elsewhere connect through ExpressVPN to a server in one of those five countries.
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Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know before subscribing to Chili.
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