5 Best Free VPNs For BBC iPlayer (To Watch Outside UK)

Best Free VPNs for BBC iPlayer: Watch Outside UK

Online streaming is an integral part of our daily lives. In the UK, there is little doubt that BBC iPlayer is amongst the most popular options for streaming, as the service is free for UK residents. It provides TV-series, movies, and several sporting events. By and large, this streaming service gives their users the whole package.

Unfortunately, BBC iPlayer is only available to UK residents, as it is linked to the British Broadcasting Channel, which is a national TV network funded by taxpayers. Hence, you cannot access BBC iPlayer from other countries. The streaming service will simply notice your IP address and block the content from your sight.

Considering you miss out on quality content for free, this is pretty sad for non UK residents. However, there is a solution to the issue, and this solution comes in the form of a VPN service.

In essence, a VPN service allows you to connect to a server abroad, thereby appearing as if you were located in the respective country. If you seek to watch BBC iPlayer abroad free, then you just have to connect to a server in the UK, and then you can watch BBC iPlayer with a UK IP address. Pretty simple.

Top Risk-Free VPN Services To Consider

Before we go straight to the totally free VPN services, we would like to introduce a species of VPN providers that offer risk-free services. These risk-free providers will request that you first subscribe to their service. However, you are allowed to request a refund within a stipulated deadline. The beauty of this type of service is that you get access to all the features the provider has available. Thus, you get stellar security features, unrestricted internet speed, and powerful unblocking abilities. While at it, you will be using the service potentially for free.

Here are two solid risk-free VPN considerations.

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN devices

Features

  • Number of servers: More than 3,000
  • Speeds: Unlimited
  • Server locations: 160 in 105 countries
  • Maximum devices supported: 5
  • 24 live chat: Yes
  • 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes

Pros/Cons

  • Fastest VPN out there
  • Strict no logs policy
  • 256-bit AES encryption
  • Few discounts
Visit ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is undoubtedly one of the best options if you want to watch BBC iPlayer abroad. The service provides many British servers, and it is known for its high speed connections and stability. While the service technically is not free, you can utilize its money back guarantee, which is essentially a free pass.

The service provides over 3,000 servers worldwide. These are spread across 94 different countries, yet a vast amount of servers can be found in the UK. That means you are always guaranteed high speeds and good stability here, as the servers will not be flooded over by users of the VPN service.

One of the most important aspects of your streaming service is after all the speed and stability. Even though you are looking to watch BBC iPlayer abroad free, there is still some level of expectation related to the streaming experience itself, and nobody wants to compromise. ExpressVPN provides you with a quality experience.

While ExpressVPN is originally a paid service, you can utilize the money back guarantee to make it essentially free for up to 30 days. Here, you will get full access to ExpressVPN features, and you can watch BBC iPlayer abroad free. If you are not happy for some reason, simply ask for your money back.

  • Pros: Fastest VPN out there; Strict no logs policy; 256-bit AES encryption;
  • Lowest price: $6.67

NordVPN

NordVPN devices

Features

  • Cryptocurrency accepted? Yes
  • Simultaneous connections: 6
  • Dedicated IP-addresses? Yes
  • Servers: 5342 in 58 countries

Pros/Cons

  • Lots of pricing options
  • Netflix support kept up to date
  • 256-bit AES encryption
  • Slow app
Visit NordVPN

NordVPN is another VPN service that is originally a paid alternative, yet it also comes with a money back guarantee that leaves you flexible. The service provides quality servers worldwide, including many in the UK, as well as high speed connections and stable servers that are regularly maintained.

In total, NordVPN offers over 5,500 servers across 60 different countries, and these numbers are on the rise. While this is a great amount of servers, NordVPN has in no way conceded on the quality of its servers. These servers provide high speed and stable connections, including in the UK. This way you can watch BBC iPlayer abroad without any compromises.

There are few things that irritate more than interruptions in your streaming, or even instances where the VPN service cannot bypass the geographical restrictions. Thankfully, NordVPN is widely known to be able to circumvent any geographical restrictions or potential VPN IP address bans.

As mentioned earlier, NordVPN is a paid VPN service, but it comes with a money back guarantee. In theory, this policy gives you the service free for 30 days. This way you can watch BBC iPlayer free abroad with NordVPN. If for some reason you are not happy, simply unsubscribe and request your money back.

  • Pros: Lots of pricing options; Netflix support kept up to date; 256-bit AES encryption;
  • Lowest price: $3.71

Recommended Free VPNs for BBC iPlayer

As mentioned above, in order to watch BBC iPlayer abroad free, there are a few options. Below, we have recommended some free VPNs for BBC iPlayer.

Trust.Zone

Trust.Zone devices

Features

  • Complete anonymity? Yes
  • Unblocking of all websites? Yes
  • Pricing options: 4
  • Servers: 164 in 80+ zones
  • Free trial: Yes

Pros/Cons

  • Military grade encryption
  • Bitcoin accepted
  • App for mobile devices
  • Lesser known provider
Try Trust.Zone

Trust.Zone is another paid VPN service that offers a free trial. Its trial might not be long enough to justify it being labeled a free VPN, yet it could come in handy for special events or simply watching a single movie. After all, Trust.Zone provides worldwide servers and good speeds and stability.

With over 160 high speed servers spread across 87 different zones all over the world, Trust.Zone leaves you with a great variety of servers to choose from. Included in their offer are British servers, meaning you can watch BBC iPlayer free abroad with this VPN service.

Furthermore, Trust.Zone comes with good speeds, meaning you can watch content without interruptions. The service is also known to bypass geographical restrictions, so you can watch BBC iPlayer without residing in the UK. With Trust.Zone`s VPN service, you simply make no compromise with your streaming experience.

While Trust.Zone only provides a 3 day free trial, it is without any form of commitments. That means you can safely use this free VPN trial in order to watch BBC iPlayer abroad free for a movie or two. You could potentially also watch a specific sporting event, or binge watch a TV series.

  • Pros: Military grade encryption; Bitcoin accepted; App for mobile devices;
  • Lowest price: €3

ZenMate VPN

ZenMate VPN devices

Features

  • IP cloaking? Yes
  • Unblock streaming? Yes
  • Locations: Over 35 countries
  • Devices supported: All major ones.
  • Browser extension? Yes, Chrome and Firefox

Pros/Cons

  • Live sports streaming
  • Over 2600 servers
  • Anonymous IP
  • Limited customer support
Visit ZenMate VPN

ZenMate is a third paid VPN service, yet this is quite a different kind of free as compared to ExpressVPN and NordVPN. That is because ZenMate offers a free trial, meaning you never actually pay. Regardless, the service provides a great selection of high quality servers all across the world, including in the UK, meaning you can watch BBC iPlayer free abroad here.

In total, ZenMate can offer servers in over 30 countries. This means you can access the vast amount of content that is available online. Many countries included on ZenMate`s server list offer free content, such as the BBC iPlayer, providing you live in the country. Of course, with the correct IP address, you can access this content.

However, accessing free content often comes with compromises, especially considering VPN services are known to lose some of the connection speed. Thankfully, ZenMate ranks among the best services in terms of maintaining your high speed Internet connection, resulting in a streaming experience that is similar to your non-VPN streaming.

The free trial period lasts for 7 days, which means you can test out the service and its full capabilities completely free for 7 days. There are no strings attached, and if you do not think this is the VPN service for you, you can simply walk on. The ZenMate free trial is a great option to watch BBC iPlayer abroad free if there is for instance just one movie you want to watch through the service.

  • Pros: Live sports streaming; Over 2600 servers; Anonymous IP;
  • Lowest price: €1.64

Windscribe

Windscribe devices

Features

  • Browser extension? Yes
  • Pricing options: 3
  • Free trial: No
  • Unblocking of all websites? Yes
  • Locations: Servers in 60 countries

Pros/Cons

  • Military grade encryption
  • Available on all major platforms
  • App for mobile devices
  • Lesser known provider
Visit Windscribe

Windscribe is our first recommended free VPN service that comes with an absolutely free version. There is also a paid version, but we would rather recommend one of the abovementioned alternatives if you want to upgrade. In terms of the free Windscribe version, you may enjoy a few great perks.

For instance, you may enjoy servers in 10 different countries, including the UK. That means you can watch BBC iPlayer abroad free through the use of Windscribe. The service also offers servers in countries such as the U.S. and Canada, which provides for great access to online content. It is common that free VPNs struggle with unblocking content, but Windscribe does not seem to have an issue with this.

However, there are certain limitations that might put a damper on your streaming experience in specific. Windscribe originally only gives free subscribers 2GB of data per month, whereas you can get 10GB of data per month if you provide your email address. Neither satisfies the needs of most streaming service users, meaning you will have to eventually upgrade.

However, you can never go wrong with a free VPN service just to test out the technology or for a one-time event, and here Windscribe is a great option. Their ability to unblock streaming services, and good speeds, make it easy to watch BBC iPlayer abroad free through their British servers.

  • Pros: Military grade encryption; Available on all major platforms; App for mobile devices;
  • Lowest price: $4.08

TunnelBear

TunnelBear devices

Features

  • Cryptocurrency accepted? Yes, bitcoin
  • Dedicated IP-adresses? Yes
  • Simultaneous connections: 5
  • Locations: 28 countries

Pros/Cons

  • Unlimited browsing
  • Account manager
  • Military grade encryption
  • Free version allows only 500MB data
Visit TunnelBear

Tunnelbear is another VPN service that comes with a completely free version. While the paid version ranks quite a bit behind other paid VPNs, their free option is among the best free VPN services. There are of course a few limitations, but contrary to many free VPN services, you will for instance get full access to the servers offered by Tunnelbear from their paid version.

In total, Tunnelbear offers servers from 22 countries. While this is below the average offering, the service still offers the most important countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the UK for instance. Following, you can watch BBC iPlayer abroad free by connecting to a British server with Tunnelbear.

As with any other free VPN service, Tunnelbear does come with certain restrictions. The service will grant you access to all servers included in the paid version, but you will only have access to 500MB of data per month. While data usage fluctuates based on the streaming service and quality of the stream, 500MB usually only lasts for about half an hour.

While Tunnelbear provides quality servers worldwide for free, it is not a viable solution. It is definitely a nice free VPN to utilize for purposes such as remaining anonymous for a short period online. However, when streaming TV shows, movies, and sporting events on BBC iPlayer, it will only do as a test service.

  • Pros: Unlimited browsing; Account manager; Military grade encryption;
  • Lowest price: $3.33

What Is a Free VPN?

VPN is an abbreviation for Virtual Private Network, which is a technology that allows you to essentially route your traffic through an external server. In this way, your original IP address is not revealed along the way, making it impossible for websites to know who you really are. You can for instance use the technology to watch BBC iPlayer abroad free of charge.

There are multiple services out there offering the technology with different servers and functions. In order to compete, services have to invest to great lengths into the infrastructure of their server parks, as well as in innovating in terms of how the technology might be applied, and what new functions may assist the user.

A VPN can never be truly free without limitations. Most free VPN services have limitations such as data usage and connection speeds. There are also great limitations on the number of servers available, although most provide British servers so that you can watch BBC iPlayer abroad free.

However, not all free VPN services are able to surpass the geographical restrictions put forth by BBC iPlayer, which means they are not always that reliable. The best option is likely only to use free VPNs to test the technology. If you are hesitant about paying for a VPN, most of them come with money-back guarantees.

Utilize the Free Aspect of Paid VPNs

While completely free VPN services always will be tempting, they normally come with restrictions that truly only make them free for a few hours at most, if you use them for streaming that is. If you want to watch BBC iPlayer abroad for free, the best option is most likely to utilize the free aspect of paid VPNs.

Our recommended paid VPNs all come with either free trials or money-back guarantees. Usually, the latter is the better option, as these last quite a bit longer. Oftentimes the money-back guarantee will last up to 30 days. That means you can utilize high-quality VPN servers for a whole month to watch BBC iPlayer abroad for free.

Constantly utilizing the free aspects of VPN services will however get tiring eventually, and for most individuals, the better option is to acquire a paid subscription. After all, the services are not very expensive, and the free versions will bring about more hassle than what is worth it for most individuals.

Free VPN services are great assets for one-time uses and testing purposes, but they are not a viable solution if you want to watch BBC iPlayer for more than a few hours. After all, the BBC iPlayer in and of itself is free if you use a British IP address, so it is helpful to think about how much money you save utilizing a VPN service for entertainment purposes.

Watch BBC iPlayer Abroad Free

With the use of a free VPN service, you may watch BBC iPlayer abroad for free. Some services are completely free, some offer trials, and others give you a money-back guarantee that essentially makes them free. The latter is clearly the better alternative, as it normally gives you a month’s access to quality servers and functions.

Constantly looking for free VPN solutions will however be tiring in the long term, as restrictions normally mean you can only utilize the service for a few hours for free, and even with the money-back guarantee, you will eventually run out of services. For most individuals that like streaming services such as BBC iPlayer, the best option is to upgrade to a paid VPN, considering they are normally rather cheap anyways.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Best Free VPNs for Watching BBC iPlayer

Can I use a free proxy to watch BBC iPlayer outside the United Kingdom?

Most likely not. Yes, a proxy server can change your IP address, and through it, your location. However, BBC iPlayer will likely detect that you are using a proxy. The technology the platform employs is rather sophisticated. Hence, BBC iPlayer will detect and block your access.

However, even in the unlikely event that a free proxy unblocks BBC iPlayer, you will be exposing yourself to unnecessary risks. Proxies do not encrypt your traffic. Hence, a cybercriminal could still target and attack you.

What can I watch on BBC iPlayer?

BBC iPlayer is home to several exclusive movies and shows. You may be unable to find some of them on other platforms. These movies and shows include Top Gear, EastEnders, Doctor Who, Euro2020, and so much more.

Is it illegal to use a VPN to access BBC iPlayer outside of the United Kingdom?

The answer to that is not a straightforward yes, or no. Granted, some countries have an unfavorable stance towards VPNs. In addition, when you use a VPN to bypass geo-restrictions on platforms such as BBC iPlayer, you may be violating some copyright agreements. However, VPNs are generally not considered illegal. You could be blocked if the platform discovers your VPN use. However, there is little risk of being prosecuted.

Where can I watch BBC iPlayer outside the UK from?

Potentially anywhere. A VPN makes it possible for you to access BBC iPlayer regardless of your location. Thus, you can potentially unblock the platform, whether you are in the United States, Australia, Argentina, or Nigeria. You just need to connect to a free VPN’s server in the United Kingdom. That gives you unrestricted access to what you seek.