RaiPlay is Italy’s free public-broadcaster streaming service, run by RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana) and launched back in 2016. It has grown into a giant: more than 24 million registered users and over 20,000 hours of on-demand content, from films and Italian and international series to documentaries, culture, sport, opera and theatre, plus 14 live RAI channels. All of it is completely free, comparable in scope to Netflix or Prime inside Italy. The catch is geography. Outside Italy the live section shrinks to Rai News 24 alone and the catalogue narrows to the handful of titles for which RAI holds foreign web rights, so a valid account still gets you turned away from most of the content.
The fix is simple. Connect through a reliable VPN to a server in Italy, take on an Italian IP address, and RaiPlay opens exactly as if you were sitting in Rome. NordVPN keeps its Italian servers fast and stable, so live channels like Rai 1 and Rai 2 stream without buffering and the on-demand archive plays cleanly in HD. The VPN unlocks nothing paid; the service is genuinely free, the VPN simply restores your Italian location so it works in full. You sign in with your own RAI account, which is free to create with an email or via Google or Apple.
Tested weekly by our team. Green: works, amber: partial, red: blocked.
| VPN Service | Price | RaiPlay | Tested | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 NordVPNBEST | From $2.99/mo | ✓ Works | September 12 | Try it |
 Surfshark | From $1.78/mo | ✓ Works | September 14 | Open |
 ExpressVPN | From $2.79/mo | ✓ Works | September 13 | Open |
 Private Internet Access | From $1.79/mo | ✓ Works | September 12 | Open |
 IPVanish | From $2.19/mo | ~ Partial | September 8 | Open |
 ProtonVPN | From $3.59/mo | ~ Partial | September 10 | Open |
 CyberGhost | From $1.75/mo | ~ Partial | September 9 | Open |
✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works✓ Works~ Partial~ Partial~ PartialTakes about 2 minutes. Works on your phone, tablet, TV, PC, or laptop.
RaiPlay streams in full in Italy, and part of its catalogue plays in 190 more countries. For the titles that stay locked, use a premium VPN.
RaiPlay also works in the United States, in the United Kingdom, in Australia, in Canada and in New Zealand, plus in 185 more countries, but with limited content compared to fully available countries. NordVPN unlocks full access.
RaiPlay is blocked in the British Virgin Islands, in North Korea and in Syria. To access it, use a premium VPN like NordVPN.
RaiPlay is the ultimate destination for high quality Italian television, featuring an extensive library of award winning films, gripping dramas like Mare Fuori, and live channels. While most content is free to watch, strict geographic restrictions apply outside of Italy, making a reliable VPN essential for international viewers and expats wanting to stay connected to Italian culture.
5 tips from our RaiPlay testing team · Updated July 18, 2026
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Everything you need to know before you start watching RaiPlay.
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Part of the RAI - Radiotelevisione Italiana S.p.A. family.
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