If you’re traveling to a country where Spotify is unavailable, or if you work in a place where Spotify is blocked, there is a simple method to easily unblock it.
You can use a virtual private network (VPN) to unblock and access Spotify no matter where you are in the world. Follow the quick guide below to set up a VPN and get Spotify unblocked.
- Purchase a VPN subscription from the service provider’s website. NordVPN is an excellent choice as it’s both fast and secure.
- Download and install the VPN app.
- Connect to a server in a country where Spotify is unblocked. American servers are a safe bet and will usually let you access the full Spotify library.
- After you’re connected to the VPN server, open your Spotify app and use it as you normally would!
Since there are so many VPN providers out there, it can be confusing to select only one. We’ve narrowed down the list for you by picking our 3 top VPNs to use with Spotify. These are:
- NordVPN – the best all-round choice for unblocking Spotify
- Surfshark – the most affordable VPN for unblocking Spotify
- CyberGhost – the best VPN for accessing Spotify from different countries
For a comprehensive guide and why we chose these VPN services, and some free options, read the full article below!
Spotify is the leading music streaming service in the world. Nearly 365 million people use the service and close to half have purchased a premium subscription. The service has great content (including podcasts) with more than 35 million songs, a phenomenal recommendation algorithm, and several useful social features.
However, the service is still not available in all countries of the world, especially parts of Africa. Moreover, certain songs or albums are unavailable in certain regions. You might have wondered why are some songs unplayable on Spotify? This can be due to geo-restrictions or because Spotify is blocked by a firewall. Usually, these Spotify songs are greyed out.
If you’ve noticed a Spotify song greyed out or received an error message like “Spotify can’t play this right now”, then this article is for you. We explain how you can bypass these restrictions and access Spotify from anywhere in the world by using a virtual private network (VPN).
A powerful VPN, such as NordVPN, allows you to encrypt and reroute your internet traffic to make it seem like you’re accessing Spotify from another country. Now, let’s see how you can unblock Spotify using a VPN and go into detail about why a VPN lets you unblock such services.
How to Unblock Spotify Using a VPN
You just have to follow a few quick and easy steps to access Spotify from anywhere in the world. For those of you who are interested, this article goes deeper into how a VPN works, which countries Spotify is available in, and which VPNs work best with Spotify.
Step-by-step guide on how to change your country on Spotify
- Purchase a subscription to a reliable and secure VPN service provider from their website. NordVPN is our pick to use with Spotify as it’s really fast and has an impressive server network.
- Download the VPN app for your device from the service provider’s website. NordVPN works on Windows, Android, iOS, and macOS.
- Install the app by following the simple on-screen instructions.
- After installing the VPN app, connect to a server located in a country where Spotify is available. We’ve provided a list of these countries later in the article.
- Head over to the Spotify app and open it
- Voila! You should now have Spotify unblocked no matter where you are in the world.
Note: You can also use a VPN to pick up a Spotify premium subscription for cheap. Read this article for more information on how to save money on Spotify and other subscriptions.
Why Do I Need a VPN to Use Spotify?
In most circumstances, you don’t really need a VPN to listen to music on Spotify. However, situations may arise where your access to Spotify is cut off.
This may happen, for instance, when you travel to a country, such as China or Iran, where Spotify is still not available. If you try streaming music on Spotify in these countries without a VPN, you’ll get an error saying the service is not available in your country. You can see a full list of countries where Spotify is available.
Similarly, certain songs may be greyed out or unavailable even if you can access the service itself. This happens because musicians and record labels sometimes choose to make their content available in only certain countries. Spotify doesn’t really have control over this as it has to comply with the license obligations imposed by artists and companies.
You may also find access to the service blocked if you have a free Spotify account and are traveling abroad. With a free Spotify account, you will only be able to access music and other content for 14 days before the Spotify app asks you to change your location and log in again. This problem does not arise with a premium Spotify account.
Finally, schools and offices also restrict access to Spotify using a firewall and similar blocking techniques. As a result, you may be unable to enjoy your favorite playlists while in the office or at school. A VPN can help block Spotify anywhere. How so? Well, let’s quickly understand how a VPN works.
How Does a VPN Unblock Spotify?
As we mentioned earlier, a VPN encrypts your internet activity and routes it through a different server. It also changes your IP address, which is used by streaming services to track your location. The VPN server and IP address can be located in a country of your choice. To the website or app you’re visiting, it seems as if you’re based in the country where your VPN server is located.
With a VPN, you can access the internet as if you’re located in a different nation. This allows you to unblock Spotify anywhere. You can also use it to open up content that may otherwise be unavailable in your region. This isn’t limited to Spotify but works for Netflix, Disney+, and other streaming services as well.
Now, which VPN should you choose to unblock Spotify? There are quite a few options, so we’ve tried to narrow it down for you.
The 3 Best VPNs to Unblock Spotify
In selecting the best VPNs to unblock Spotify, we primarily looked at the speeds they offer and their network of servers. Consideration was also given to the customer support and privacy protections the VPNs offer. The following three VPNs emerged as the top choices:
1. NordVPN – The best VPN to unblock Spotify
Key Features
- More than 5,300 servers spanning 60 countries
- Incredibly fast speeds
- NordLynx protocol is secure and fast
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Prices start from $3.49/month
During testing, NordVPN regularly provided high speeds for all activities, including browsing, downloading, and streaming content. We were able to listen to our favorite music and podcasts on Spotify without any interruptions.
NordVPN has more than 5300 servers across 60 countries. This vast network allows you to access the entire Spotify library without any restrictions. Other features such as dedicated specialty servers and static IP make NordVPN an ideal choice for unblocking other streaming services.
It encrypts all your data using the best protocols, such as OpenVPN, IKEv2, and its own NordLynx. It’s fast and doesn’t compromise on security either. DNS leak protection also ensures that your data remains safe and secure.
All user data is encrypted using the AES 256-bit standard. NordVPN also has a strict no-logs policy, which means that it doesn’t keep any logs of your internet activity. All of these great features come in the form of an app that really easy to use.
Overall, NordVPN offers a great blend of security, safety, and speed which are all vital to unblocking Spotify and other platforms.
- Fast and large worldwide network of VPN servers
- Perfect for privacy and streaming
- Trusted by many, with over 14 million users
2. Surfshark – The affordable VPN service for unblocking Spotify
Key Features
- Only 7% speed loss on nearby country servers
- Costs only $2.49 a month; 30-day money-back guarantee
- A NoBorders mode for unblocking content in strict censorship areas
- 3,200 servers across 65 countries
If you’re looking for an affordable VPN service that quickly unblocks Spotify, then look no further than Surfshark. It’s one of the fastest VPN services we’ve tried and is very user-friendly. All servers also support P2P traffic, so apart from using Spotify, you can also download content from other platforms too.
Surshark’s network of 3200+ servers is spread across different continents, with a significant presence in Europe and the Americas. American Spotify usually has all the latest music and can be easily accessed once you unblock Spotify using Surfshark.
Surfshark is one of the most secure VPNs out there and uses industry-leading encryption protocols, like WireGuard to secure all your internet activity.
It’s based in the British Virgin Islands, which is a privacy-friendly nation and has a strict no-logs policy. So, not only does it unblock Spotify for you, but it also doesn’t track your internet activity!
You can try out Surfshark for free by using its 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Very user-friendly and works with Netflix and torrents
- 30-day money-back guarantee. No questions asked!
- Cheap with many extra options
3. CyberGhost – The best VPN to unblock Spotify for new users
Key Features:
- No-logs policy
- Supports OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2
- 7,600 servers in 91 countries
- Prices start from $2.29 per month
CyberGhost has quickly become one of the most popular VPN services based on the value it offers. The paid version of the VPN service offers great protection and is very easy to use, making it a great Spotify VPN.
It also has a dedicated US streaming server, which offers better speeds than other regular servers do. You won’t notice any interruptions while streaming content.
CyberGhost is a great VPN to bypass Spotify geo-restrictions due to its vast server network. It has 7,600 servers in 91 countries, which is the highest of the three VPNs we’ve looked at. If you’re looking for VPN servers in the Asia Pacific region, then CyberGhost should be your preferred VPN provider.
CyberGhost uses 256 bit AES encryption to encrypt user data. The automatic kill switch also terminates your VPN connection in case you lose connectivity. This is ideal when you want to unblock Spotify in areas where it’s strictly not allowed (some schools actually do this!).
You can even try the app using CyberGhot’s 45-day money-back guarantee before finally going in for a subscription.
- Very user-friendly
- High quality for a low price
- Torrents and Netflix possible
Can I use a free VPN to unblock Spotify?
Well, the short answer to this is question is yes. You can use a free VPN to bypass restrictions on Spotify streaming. However, this comes with a few caveats.
- Free VPNs usually do not offer unlimited bandwidth. This means you’ll probably be able to stream a few songs or podcast episodes per day. You also can’t upgrade the streaming quality to “High” because that consumes more bandwidth.
- The server network on free VPNs is pretty limited as well. Users often have only one or two nations to choose from. The range of content you can access on Spotify will be limited.
- Speeds on free VPNs are also much slower than the premium VPNs we’ve listed above. Due to slower speeds, you might have to wait for songs to buffer (yes, that’s still a thing!).
Hence, while you technically can use a free VPN to stream music on Spotify, we don’t recommend it. If you still want to use a free VPN, then our free VPN rankings should help you make an informed choice.
The Bottom Line
A VPN is a powerful tool that allows you to leverage the decentralized nature of the Web and use it how it was meant to be: borderless and free. The use of VPNs to unblock Spotify is one example of this. In our opinion, NordVPN is a fantastic choice for unblocking Spotify because it connects quickly without affecting speeds. Surfshark and CyberGhost are compelling alternatives to NordVPN, especially for people on a budget.
Learn more about how you can use a VPN to open up the world of streaming using the links below:
- Is Streaming with a VPN Legal?
- Watching Netflix with a VPN – A Step-by-Step Guide
- How to Watch Hulu from Anywhere in the World
Spotify’s popularity means that readers often have some questions about why it’s blocked and what the best ways to get it unblocked are. We’ve tried our best to answer some of the most pressing questions in the FAQ section below.
Since its launch, Spotify has spread to more than 100 countries across the world. It continues to be unavailable in some nations, such as China and Iran.
Even in countries where Spotify is available, some songs may be unavailable. This happens because record labels and artists can choose which nations to make their songs available in. If they choose not to list it in a certain region, Spotify can’t give you access to that song.
To get around Spotify’s geo-restrictions, you’ll basically need to access the Spotify app or website from a server and IP address located in a country where it’s available. This can easily be done by using a reliable and secure VPN. We recommend NordVPN.
Check our article on unblocking Spotify for detailed steps on how you can set up a VPN to get Spotify unblocked.
To unblock a streaming service like Spotify, you want to pick a VPN that’s fast and has a vast network of servers. It should also be secure. Keeping these factors in mind, we recommend the following three VPNs:
- NordVPN – the best overall VPN to unblock Spotify
- Surfshark – the affordable VPN service to get Spotify unblocked
- CyberGhost – the best VPN to unblock Spotify for new users
For more information on how and why selected these three, read our detailed article on unblocking Spotify.
