The founder here is not some tech upstart but John Hendricks, the man who built Discovery Channel decades ago and later sold it. Watching CuriosityStream abroad appeals to anyone who loves science, history, space and nature without the reality-TV filler and tabloid formats. The CuriosityStream library holds thousands of titles, much of it shot in-house, with select titles delivered in 4K, which makes it one of the cheapest serious documentary catalogues you can subscribe to today.
The snag is that the richest programming stays tied to the United States, and outside the usual 187 markets you hit an unavailable notice. Some BBC and other partner licences only clear for US viewers, not for the rest of the world. Route your connection through ExpressVPN to an American server and CuriosityStream reads you as a stateside subscriber, so the full CuriosityStream catalogue opens up. Smart DNS works too, though an encrypted tunnel is the safer bet.
Tested weekly by our team. Green: works, amber: partial, red: blocked.
| VPN Service | Price | CuriosityStream | Tested | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 ExpressVPNBEST | From $2.79/mo | ✓ Works | July 6 | Try it |
 NordVPN | From $2.99/mo | ✓ Works | July 4 | Open |
 Surfshark | From $1.78/mo | ✓ Works | July 6 | Open |
 IPVanish | From $2.19/mo | ✓ Works | July 3 | Open |
 ProtonVPN | From $3.59/mo | ✓ Works | July 5 | Open |
 Private Internet Access | From $1.79/mo | ✓ Works | July 6 | Open |
 CyberGhost | From $1.75/mo | ✓ Works | July 2 | Open |
✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ WorksTakes about 2 minutes. Works on your phone, tablet, TV, PC, or laptop.
CuriosityStream is available in 187 countries, including in the United States, in the United Kingdom, in Australia, in Canada and in New Zealand. It is blocked in only 7 countries.
CuriosityStream works without a VPN in the United States, in the United Kingdom, in Australia, in Canada, in New Zealand, in Ireland and in Germany, plus in 180 more countries.
CuriosityStream is blocked in the British Virgin Islands, in China, in Cuba, in Iran and in North Korea, plus in 2 more countries. To access it, use a premium VPN like ExpressVPN.
CuriosityStream was founded by John Hendricks, the same person behind Discovery Channel, and the service has stuck to a single brief ever since: documentaries only. The catalogue spans science, history, nature and technology, often produced in-house and delivered in HD, with select titles in 4K. It remains one of the cheapest premium subscriptions on the market and ships with a thriving original slate rather than the reality-TV pivot most of its peers have taken.
5 tips from our CuriosityStream testing team · Updated June 21, 2026
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Everything you need to know before subscribing to CuriosityStream.
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