How to Watch DStv online | Watch DStv Outside South Africa With a VPN

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If you want to watch DStv online, you’ve probably noticed the service is geo-restricted to South Africa and a few other sub-Saharan countries. Fortunately, you can stream DStv Now while you’re abroad with a VPN! In this guide, we’ll provide in-depth reviews of the best VPNs to watch DStv online and compare their features, pricing, and pros & cons to help you make an informed decision.

Our top pick for the best VPN to watch DStv outside of South Africa is ExpressVPN, largely because of a good number of SA servers that support a fast and secure Lightway VPN protocol, which guarantees faster speeds and more stable performance, so you can watch DStv without buffering. Other great alternatives are NordVPN, Private Internet Access, and Surfshark read on to finds out more.

The Best VPNs for Watching DStv Online in 2023 | Shortlist

If you’re looking for a fast, reliable VPN with excellent online content unblocking capabilities but don’t know where to start, here’s our shortlist of the top 10 VPNs for watching DStv abroad in 2023:

1. ExpressVPN — Overall the Best VPN for Watching DStv Online. Leverage ExpressVPN’s 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee to Try it Risk-Free Today!
2. NordVPN — Offers Premium Security Features and Over 50 High-Speed VPN Servers in South Africa. Take Advantage of NordVPN’s 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
3. Private Internet Access — One of the Most Affordable VPNs With Dozens of Servers in Africa. Great Open-Source VPN With a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee
4. Surfshark — A Secure, Fast VPN You Can Use on an Unlimited Number of Devices With a Single Subscription. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee Included
5. PrivadoVPN — The Best Free VPN for Watching DStv Outside of South Africa
6. CyberGhost — VPN With the Largest Server Fleet, But Doesn’t Offer Any Servers in South Africa. Test CyberGhost Risk-Free With a 45-Day Money-Back Guarantee
7. PrivateVPN — Affordable VPN With a Server in Johannesburg, but Slower than Most Leading VPNs and Lacking in Advanced Security Features
8. PureVPN — Affordable VPN With 89+ Servers in Africa and a 31-Day Money-Back Guarantee
9. ProtonVPN — Powerful VPN With a Free Plan, But You’ll Have to Upgrade to a Paid Plan to Gain Access to SA Servers
10. VyprVPN — A Great Choice for Bypassing Online Censorship but not an Ideal Choice for Watching DStv

Best VPNs for DStv Online in 2023 | In-Depth Reviews

Before you commit to purchasing a specific VPN, you should know what all the different leading VPN service providers offer, which has the most reliable VPN servers in South Africa, and what level of online protection and privacy you’re getting for your money.

Researching and comparing all the different VPN service providers would take ages, but you don’t have to waste your valuable time. We’ve put together in-depth reviews of the best VPNs for DStv, so you can choose the one that’s best for you and start watching movies, series, and shows on DStv online today!

1. ExpressVPN — Overall the Best VPN for Watching DStv Online Outside of South Africa. Leverage ExpressVPN’s 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee to Try it Risk-Free Today!

ExpressVPN is the fastest and most reliable VPN service provider for watching DStv outside of South Africa. ExpressVPN has over 500 high-speed servers in more than 94 countries, but more importantly — it has dedicated online streaming servers in South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, and Kenya.

The main reason why ExpressVPN earned our number one spot is the fact that it upgraded its servers from 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps ports, making it one of the fastest VPNs on the market. In addition, it provides a proprietary Lightway protocol that reaches faster speeds and ensures a more stable performance than traditional VPN protocols.

Another great thing about ExpressVPN is that it’s available on all devices and operating systems. This means you can use ExpressVPN to watch DStv on your phone, laptop, PC, or even a smart TV. 

In addition to excellent online content unblocking capabilities, ExpressVPN offers industry-standard encryption, prevents tracking, blocks annoying ads, and protects you from malware and other real-time cyber threats. 

The one drawback of ExpressVPN is that it’s a bit more expensive than other leading providers, but we believe that the super-fast VPN speed and dedicated South Africa VPN servers are well worth it if you’re primarily looking for a VPN to watch DStv abroad.

2. NordVPN — Offers Premium Security Features and Over 50 High-Speed VPN Servers in South Africa. Take Advantage of NordVPN’s 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

NordVPN is one of the biggest names in the virtual private network industry. It earned its glory thanks to superb encryption, secure VPN protocols, a large server fleet, and the ability to consistently unblock geo-restricted content on popular streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Hulu.

NordVPN has over 5,600 ultra-fast VPN servers spread all over the globe, with over 50 in South Africa alone. What’s more, all the SA VPN servers support NordLynx, a WireGuard-based VPN protocol that ensures maximum online safety and complete privacy without sacrificing connection speed.

With NordVPN, you’ll be able to watch DStv online with no interruptions or buffering, and nobody can track your online activity or discern your physical location, whether it’s advertising companies, your internet service provider (ISP), or the government. 

NordVPN is also one of the most powerful VPN service providers in terms of online security. Besides industry-standard encryption and powerful VPN protocols, it offers real-time threat protection, dark web monitoring, double VPN connection, obfuscated servers, and an internet kill switch to ensure you stay protected even if your connection to the VPN server drops.

3. Private Internet Access — One of the Most Affordable VPNs With Dozens of Servers in Africa. Great Open-Source VPN With a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee

Private Internet Access (PIA) is one of the most affordable VPNs that had consistently high scores on our tests, especially when it comes to unblocking geo-restricted content. It has excellent server coverage in Africa, with dozens of high-speed servers in South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria, allowing you to access DStv now from anywhere in the world.

In terms of online privacy and security, PIA is up there with the leading VPN service providers. It relies on AES-256 encryption (which is the gold standard in the industry) and offers fast and secure VPN protocols, including WireGuard. 

All of PIA’s VPN apps are 100% open-source, meaning anyone can see the source code and customize the VPN software to their desires. The company also adheres to a strict no-logs policy, meaning it doesn’t store any of your data, ensuring your online business is strictly your own.

As far as advanced VPN security features are concerned, PIA has a built-in ad and malware blocker, and it is constantly updated to ensure you’re safeguarded against ever-evolving cyber threats.

4. Surfshark — A Secure, Fast VPN You Can Use on an Unlimited Number of Devices With a Single Subscription. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee Included

Surfshark is another excellent option for accessing content on DStv Now from anywhere in the world. With over 3,200 servers, an excellent server spread, and 10 GBit VPN server ports in over 100 countries, it’s one of the fastest and most reliable VPNs on the market.

While it has excellent content unblocking capabilities, what truly makes Surfshark stand out from other VPNs is its dedication to online privacy and security. Surfshark features an IP rotator and a Camouflage Mode to completely hide your online activity, as well as private DNS and leak protection. You can also take advantage of the CleanWeb functionality to browse the internet free from any ads, trackers, malware, cookie pop-ups, or other nuisances. 

Surfshark offers dedicated apps for all devices and operating systems and allows you to protect an unlimited number of devices with its state-of-the-art VPN. This means Surfshark provides incredible value for money, as you can use it on every phone, laptop, PC, and smart TV in your household. 

5. PrivadoVPN — The Best Free VPN for Watching DStv Outside of South Africa

PrivadoVPN is the best choice if you’re on a tight budget due to the fact that it offers an excellent free plan. Without paying a dime, you’ll be able to use PrivadoVPN to connect to 12 global VPN servers and unblock geo-restricted online content, including DStv. 

That said, the free plan is limited to 10 Gb of data transfer per month, which roughly translates to about ten hours of watch time. This should be more than enough to watch a few movies or a couple of episodes of your favorite shows on DStv Now when you’re traveling abroad. If you find that 10 Gb of data transfer isn’t enough, you can always upgrade to a paid plan, starting from $4.99/month, to remove any limitations from your account.

With PrivadoVPN’s free plan, you’ll enjoy the same level of online protection that most other VPN service providers charge for. In other words, all your data will be encrypted using industry-standard encryption, and you’ll be able to choose between multiple secure, lightning-fast VPN protocols. 

Another benefit of PrivadoVPN is the fact that it’s based in Switzerland. This means that the company’s strict zero-logs policy is enforced by Swiss privacy laws, so you can rest assured that nobody will ever have access to your online activity logs. 

6. CyberGhost — VPN With the Largest Server Fleet, But Doesn’t Offer Any Servers in South Africa. Test CyberGhost Risk-Free With a 45-Day Money-Back Guarantee

When it comes to unblocking geo-restricted content, CyberGhost is an excellent choice because of its enormous server fleet. There are over 9,000 high-speed VPN servers to choose from, and you have the option within the CyberGhost VPN app to select servers that are specifically designed for online streaming. 

The reason why CyberGhost is ranked in the bottom half of our list is that it doesn’t have any servers in South Africa. While you might be able to watch DStv by connecting to servers in Nigeria, there’s no guarantee it will work every time. Plus, while the VPN servers display the Nigerian IP address, they’re not physically located in the country, meaning you’re likely to experience a significant drop-off in connection speed, which can lead to buffering and interrupt your viewing experience.

CyberGhost VPN’s main advantage over other VPN providers is the fact that it offers a 45-day money-back guarantee. This gives you a full month and a half to try out the CyberGhost in practice and see if it’s the right VPN for you.

7. PrivateVPN — Affordable VPN With a Server in Johannesburg, but Slower than Most Leading VPNs and Lacking in Advanced Security Features

PrivateVPN is a solid, affordable VPN with decent content unblocking capabilities. While it has a moderate server fleet of a little over 200 servers, one of them is located in Johannesburg. In other words, you can use PrivateVPN to connect to the South African server and watch DStv from anywhere in the world.

That said, PrivateVPN isn’t the fastest of the bunch, so you might experience some buffering depending on your physical location, more specifically, the distance to the Johannesburg server.

In terms of online safety and security, PrivateVPN covers all the bases with AES-256 encryption and eight secure VPN protocols to choose from. However, it doesn’t offer any advanced security features, lacks ad-blocking capabilities, and fails to provide real-time cyber threat protection.

8. PureVPN — Affordable VPN With 89+ Servers in Africa and a 31-Day Money-Back Guarantee

PureVPN is an affordable VPN service provider with one of the best server coverages in Africa. It offers 89+ high-speed servers in South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Angola, and Algeria, making it a perfect choice for watching DStv outside of the continent. 

Another reason to opt for PureVPN is the fact that it’s currently one of the select few VPNs to boast 20 Gbps ports, meaning it offers lightning-fast VPN connections perfect for streaming online content.

PureVPN offers iron-clad security through AES-256 encryption and ensures complete online privacy, even when you’re connected to a public Wi-Fi network. It also has built-in IPv6 and DNS leak protection, as well as an internet kill switch, as added layers of protection.

That said, PureVPN doesn’t have built-in malware protection or ad-blocking capabilities, which you’d expect out of most leading VPN service providers. The tradeoff is that it’s much cheaper than the likes of ExpressVPN and NordVPN, starting at just $1.99/month on a two-year plan.

9. ProtonVPN — Powerful VPN With a Free Plan, But You’ll Have to Upgrade to a Paid Plan to Gain Access to SA Servers

ProtonVPN is another VPN service provider that offers a free plan, albeit a little limited. The two main drawbacks of Proton’s free plan are that you can only connect to servers in the US, Netherlands, and Japan and that these servers are medium-speed.

In other words, if you want to watch DStv, you’ll have to upgrade to one of the paid plans, which start from $4.99/month on a two-year plan. The paid plan removes any limitations on your account and grants you access to over 1,500 servers, with a dozen located in Johannesburg and ideal for streaming content on DStv Now.

ProtonVPN relies on industry-standard encryption, offers fast, secure VPN protocols, and has a built-in ad blocker in NetShield. What makes ProtonVPN stand out from other virtual private networks is its proprietary VPN Accelerator that overcomes CPU limitations and uses advanced networking techniques to reduce latency. As a result, you get faster VPN speeds and stable performance, meaning you can reliably watch DStv without buffering.

All ProtonVPN apps are open-source and independently audited, so you’ll know exactly what you’re paying for. The provider also adheres to a strict no-logs policy, so your online privacy is guaranteed. 

10. VyprVPN — Great Choice for Bypassing Online Censorship but not an Ideal Choice for Watching DStv

VyprVPN is one of the best VPN service providers for people located in countries that enforce online censorship, such as the UAE, Russia, Turkey, and China. In addition to powerful AES-256 encryption and secure VPN protocols, VyprVPN prevents your ISP from performing a deep packet inspection (DPI), thus completely hiding your online activity from your internet service provider and the government. 

With VyprVPN, you can reliably access online content censored by the government and stream your favorite movies and TV shows from anywhere in the world. There are over 700 high-speed VyprVPN servers to choose from, but sadly only two of them are located in Africa, specifically in Algeria and Egypt. This makes VyprVPN unreliable for streaming DStv Now content, so you’re better off opting for one of the other VPNs on our list. 

How do I Choose a DStv VPN?

Since DStv is geo-restricted to South Africa and a few more sub-Saharan countries, the first thing you need to look at when choosing a DStv VPN is the server locations. If a VPN doesn’t have servers in SA, you likely won’t be able to access DStv Now streaming services.

Secondly, you should look at the VPN server speed. You should opt for a VPN that provides secure VPN servers with 10 Gbps ports, such as ExpressVPN and NordVPN, so you can watch TV shows and movies without buffering or annoying connection drops.

Lastly, you want to make sure your chosen VPN offers superb online security and privacy. All VPNs on our list use industry-standard AES-256 encryptions, but some have additional security features, such as real-time threat protection, built-in malware and tracker protection, and ad blocking.

DStv VPN Testing Methodology | What Makes a Good DStv VPN?

When testing dozens of VPN service providers, we connected to multiple VPN servers in Africa, monitored the connection speed decrease, and played a video on DStv Now to test if they reliably unblock the streaming service.

We also tested their security features, their ability to defend against malware, and their ad-blocking capabilities.

The test results showed that the providers with the most stable performance and fastest VPN speed are ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Private Internet Access.

What’s the Best Free DStv VPN?

Out of all the VPNs we tested, the only free VPN that consistently unblocks DStv is PrivadoVPN. In the VPN industry, a free plan is a rarity, especially one that doesn’t limit your access to a handful of servers. 

With PrivadoVPN, you can use up to 10 Gb of data transfer per month and watch DStv online for free on your mobile phone, PC, laptop, and even a smart TV. This comes up to about ten hours of watch time, which should be more than enough if you’re traveling abroad for a couple of days each month.

Another reason to opt for PrivadoVPN is the fact that it is based in Switzerland, which has strict online privacy laws. Coupled with iron-clad encryption and a zero-logs policy, this ensures that nobody will ever have access to your online activity logs (not even your ISP or the government), and you’ll stay fully protected against malware and other cyber threats.

What Is a VPN? | Why Do I Need a VPN?

VPN stands for “virtual private network.” In simple terms, it’s a software application that lets you connect to secure remote servers and makes it appear as though you’re accessing the internet from a different IP address. In doing so, VPNs hide your real IP and physical location, all the while encrypting your online data, making it impossible for hackers, advertisers, and other third parties to access your online activity logs or infect your device with malicious software.

Another huge reason to use a VPN is to bypass online censorship and access geo-restricted content. Without a VPN, you wouldn’t be able to watch DStv outside of South Africa, but if you connect to a VPN server in SA, you’ll be able to access DStv Now online services from virtually anywhere in the world.

Will a VPN Slow my Connection Down?

Yes, all VPNs will inevitably slow down your internet connection because the online traffic is routed through a remote VPN server. However, if you opt for a fast VPN service provider, the speed drop-off won’t be noticeable. 

The leading VPN providers we recommend all have lightning-fast servers and rely on powerful VPN protocols to ensure stable VPN connections and allow you to stream online content without buffering or interruptions. 

The Fastest DStv VPN

If you don’t want to wait 15 minutes for an episode of your favorite TV show to load before you can start watching it, we strongly recommend ExpressVPN, NordVPN, and Private Internet Access as the fastest and most reliable VPNs for watching DStv.

How to Watch DStv Online From Anywhere in the World

If you want to watch DStv online outside of South Africa, you’ll first need to connect your existing DStv account with the DStv Now online streaming service. This is only possible if you have a decoder physically installed in your home in SA, as there’s no way to sign up for the online streaming service otherwise.

Once you have your DStv account linked to the provider’s online streaming service, you’ll need to download and install a reliable VPN. We’ll use ExpressVPN as an example to show you the exact steps you need to follow to start watching DStv online today from anywhere in the world:

1. Visit ExpressVPN and choose the pricing plan that suits you the best
2. Download and install the VPN on your device
3. Log in to ExpressVPN using your credentials and connect to a server in South Africa
4. Open the DStv website in your browser and log into your DStv Now account
5. Play your favorite TV show or movie and enjoy

If the movie or TV show you selected doesn’t play properly, make sure to clean your cookies. If you’re still having trouble streaming online content on DStv, try switching to a different VPN server. Iif all else fails, contact ExpressVPN’s customer support for help.

DStv VPN FAQs