Plex is the rare app that pulls your whole viewing life into one place: thousands of free ad-supported movies and shows, a wall of live FAST channels, and your own personal media server streaming the files you keep at home. Available in 187 countries, it travels with you anywhere. The snag is that the parts you care about are tied to where you are. The free catalogue and the live channels are licensed country by country, so abroad the line-up thins out, and reaching your home server across a foreign hotel or mobile network is often blocked. Watching Plex from anywhere the way you do at home comes down to your IP address.
That is what a VPN fixes. Route your connection through a server back home and Plex sees a familiar IP, so your channels, your catalogue and your personal library all return in up to 4K. With ExpressVPN the whole setup takes a few minutes, whether you are travelling, studying overseas or living abroad as an expat.
Tested weekly by our team. Green: works, amber: partial, red: blocked.
| VPN Service | Price | Plex | Tested | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 ExpressVPNBEST | From $2.79/mo | ✓ Works | July 25 | Try it |
 Surfshark | From $1.78/mo | ✓ Works | July 25 | Open |
 NordVPN | From $2.99/mo | ✓ Works | July 26 | Open |
 IPVanish | From $2.19/mo | ✓ Works | July 25 | Open |
 ProtonVPN | From $3.59/mo | ✓ Works | July 24 | Open |
 Private Internet Access | From $1.79/mo | ✓ Works | July 23 | Open |
 CyberGhost | From $1.75/mo | ✓ Works | July 22 | Open |
✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ WorksTakes about 2 minutes. Works on your phone, tablet, TV, PC, or laptop.
Plex 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 6 countries.
Plex 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.
Plex also works in Russia, but with limited content compared to fully available countries. ExpressVPN unlocks full access.
Plex is blocked in the British Virgin Islands, in China, in Cuba, in Iran and in North Korea, plus in 1 more country. To access it, use a premium VPN like ExpressVPN.
Plex combines your personal media collections with a massive library of free, ad-supported movies, shows, and live TV channels. The platform serves as a unified entertainment hub, allowing you to stream content from your own servers alongside standard titles without switching apps. It positions itself as a flexible alternative to traditional streaming bundles by letting you organize, share, and discover media on practically any connected device.
4 tips from our Plex testing team · Updated July 16, 2026
Not the right fit? Here are services in the same category you can compare.
Everything you need to know before subscribing to Plex.
ExpressVPN lets you switch country and stream what Plex keeps in other regions. Risk-free 30-day money-back.
Part of the Plex, Inc. family.
Try ExpressVPN
