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How to Use a VPN to Watch the 2021 Super Bowl

Want to watch the 2021 Super Bowl from outside the US? Read our guide to using a VPN to watch this year's biggest game.

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0 out of 0
Test Score
Our scoring is based on independent tests and assessments of features, privacy settings, ease of use and value.
Price From
Lowest price for single month subscription to cheapest paid tier. Other plans are available.
Verdict
Free Trial
Try
Click to find the latest offers, deals and discounts from the VPN provider
4.8
4.6
4.2
4.5
4.0
3.9
3.8
4.3
3.5
4.7
3.5

$2.99/month
Up to 67% off!

$2.99/month

$2.03/month

$9.99/month

$2.08/month

  • $1.00 per month (1 server)

$4.99 per month

$2.19/month

$8.32/month

~$2.20 (3-day plan)

Fast, effective, low-cost and simple – the best VPN we’ve tested, with risk-free money-back guarantee

Industry-beating good value, with a single low price to cover all your devices, plus great speeds and top security features

Powerful features and security, but a bit technical. Some massive savings currently available.

Outstanding value, with an advanced VPN app

Good VPN privacy at good speeds

A safe, simple, outstanding VPN

A good, well-priced VPN

A decent option for expert users

A user-friendly VPN, let down by some speed loss

Superb features, but at a higher cost

A powerful tool for expert users

30-day money-back guarantee

Yes (iOS and Android)

30-day money-back guarantee

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There are few events in the American TV calendar that spark excitement quite like the Super Bowl. This year, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will take on the Kansas City Chiefs on February 7th at the Raymond James Stadium in Florida. The half time show entertainment is being provided by The Weeknd.

With the pandemic still in full swing, it'll be a slightly unusual event this year. Attendance is expected to be around 25,000, with the rest of the 30,000 capacity being filled with cardboard cut outs of fans.

The smart choice if you want to watch it is to stay at home and catch it online or on the TV, although Dr Fauci is advising strongly about the traditional Super Bowl party.

Rights to air the game alternate between the three main rights-holders for the NFL – Fox, NBC, and CBS. This year, CBS will host the game on its TV channel, and also stream it for free at CBSSports.com, and on the CBS Sports App.

However, if you’re not located in the United States, you might not have so many options to watch the big game – at least, not without paying a premium. The CBS site will identify if you’re accessing it from outside the USA, and will shut down your access to the stream. Bad news if you happen to be out of the country when the big game kicks off.

The good news is that technology can come to the rescue, and with a decent VPN, you can follow the game play-by-play, without a hitch. Our top-choice is NordVPN, which takes the trophy with its simple interface, large choice of servers and great value plans. Plus, you just might want to hang onto that VPN afterwards for all the privacy and content access benefits they bring. We explain all you need to know, below.

The Best VPNs for Watching the 2021 Super Bowl

The best VPNs can effortlessly connect you to the sites you love and give you access to all their content, for just a few dollars a month. We’ve picked the best ones we've tested in our full table, below:

0 out of 0
Price From
Lowest price for single month subscription to cheapest paid tier. Other plans are available.
Verdict
No. of Devices
No. of Servers
Zero Data Logging
Kill Switch
Email Support
Live Chat
Free Trial
Try
Click to find the latest offers, deals and discounts from the VPN provider

$2.99/month
Up to 67% off!

$2.99/month

$2.08/month

$2.03/month

$9.99/month

  • $1.00 per month (1 server)

$4.99 per month

$2.19/month

$8.32/month

~$2.20 (3-day plan)

Fast, effective, low-cost and simple – the best VPN we’ve tested, with risk-free money-back guarantee

Powerful features and security, but a bit technical. Some massive savings currently available.

A safe, simple, outstanding VPN

Outstanding value, with an advanced VPN app

Good VPN privacy at good speeds

A good, well-priced VPN

A decent option for expert users

A user-friendly VPN, let down by some speed loss

Superb features, but at a higher cost

A powerful tool for expert users

6

Unlimited

5

Unlimited

8-12

Unlimited

10

5

5

5

5,000+ (60+ countries)

2,200+ (55+ countries)

7,600 (78+ countries)

30,000+ (84+ countries)

3,000+ (50+ countries)

500+ (60+ countries)

1,800+ (64+ countries)

9,000 (90+ countries)

3,000+ (94+ countries)

247+ (23+ countries)

30-day money-back guarantee

Yes (iOS and Android)

30-day money-back guarantee

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NordVPN

NordVPN is a fast and powerful VPN, and offers excellent value for money, especially if you commit to the year subscription plan, or longer. That's why we think it's the best VPN to use to access the Super Bowl.

There's even a free trial to NordVPN you can take advantage of just in time for the Super Bowl

If you're concerned about your online privacy, then NordVPN could well be the right choice for you. Its data encryption is military-grade, which means that you won't have to worry about online snoopers as you access the web – a particular comfort if you're using a public WiFi service.

It also has a wide reach, with 3,600 servers across 62 countries, meaning that you'll never struggle to find a server to route your traffic through.

It's flexible too, with a single subscription allowing you to use NordVPN on up to six different devices.

NordVPN
Fast, secure, and great value - one of the best VPNs you can choose
In Short

Pros:

  • Risk-free money-back guarantee
  • Excellent mobile app for iOS
  • Lightning-quick connection speeds
  • Packed with useful security features
  • Excellent value for money

Cons:

  • Couldn't unblock some streaming services
  • Roughly half of the server network is located in US
Pricing
  • From $2.99/month
  • VPN + Password Manager + Cloud Storage $5.99/month
  • Headquarters in Panama

IPVanish

IPVanish is aimed more at those who have used VPNs before, and could prove daunting to newcomers. However, for those with some technical acumen, it's an incredibly powerful tool, with options to change the VPN protocol or enable different levels of leak protection. If that means nothing to you, we'd suggest sticking with the excellent NordVPN, above.

One of the key benefits of IPVanish is its excellent speeds. No VPN will be as fast as your connection when you're not using one, but some handle slowdown better than others, and IPVanish manages to barely dip at all, keeping a consistent speed that won't impact your use.

IPVanish owns and operates 1,000 servers in over 60 countries, and allows peer to peer file-sharing, which some other VPNs actively ban.

IPVanish VPN
A very good VPN, but a little costly
4.2
In Short

Pros:

  • Controls a proportion of its server network
  • Solid privacy and security features
  • Decent speeds

Cons

  • Slightly intimidating user interface
  • Hasn't made the switch to RAM servers
  • Priced above some rivals
Pricing
  • $2.99 per month

Private Internet Access

It may not have the snappiest name, but Private Internet Access (PIA) is a solid VPN that offers excellent value, and a simple interface that is easy to get to grips with.

As well as the usual features you'd expect, PIA also offers PIA Mace, which actively blocks ads and tracking tools that could follow your behaviour and target you with ads.

It also had a killswitch, so that should it ever fail, your connection won't simply fall back to your unprotected ISP access.

IPVanish VPN
A very good VPN, but a little costly
4.2
In Short

Pros:

  • Controls a proportion of its server network
  • Solid privacy and security features
  • Decent speeds

Cons

  • Slightly intimidating user interface
  • Hasn't made the switch to RAM servers
  • Priced above some rivals
Pricing
  • $2.99 per month

Can You Use a Free VPN to Watch the Super Bowl?

We'd advise against it. While there are numerous day-to-day reasons to avoid using free VPNs – including dubious privacy protections, limited numbers of servers to connect to and being served distracting adverts while you use them – there's a big one to consider when it comes to streaming a big event: Data.

Yup, most free VPNs have a pretty tight data limit, and that means there's only so much streaming you can do before you hit the cap.

With a big ticket event like the Super Bowl, which you'll want to watch in HD, don't expect to make it to the half time show over a free VPN. If you only want to watch the half time show, then you just might get away with a free VPN. Our advice is to make use of a free trial of NordVPN. And hey, you may just like the service enough to stick with it afterwards…

How do VPNs Work?

A VPN (Virtual Private Network), effectively creates a ‘tunnel' to route your internet connection to a secure proxy server, from which you then access the rest of the internet.

The benefits of doing this is that the VPN server hides your real IP address, which is unique to you and used to identify your location, among other things. With a VPN, you can choose which country to route your traffic through. This in turn enables you to access the internet as if you were based in that country.

There are several benefits to this, including being able to access content that you would usually be geo-blocked from, including region specific media content (such as Netflix).

To watch the Super Bowl, set your VPN to a US server and it will make it seem as though you're browsing the web stateside. Here's how:

How Can I Use a VPN to Watch the 2021 Super Bowl?

Once you've picked the right VPN for you (we recommend checking our list below), download the app and install it on your device. Log in with your account details, created as part of the sign-up process. Now you're ready to go.

As you're looking to watch the 2021 Super Bowl via the CBS site, you need to make it look as though you're located in the United States. How you do this will depend on the VPN you're using, but usually it will be a simple case of clicking on the region's flag, or selecting it from a map within the VPN.

Now that you're connected, it's simply a case of visiting the FoxSports.com site and settling down for the game. In this instance, you don't need to sign up for an account, so you can jump straight in. However, to access any other US sites or services, you may be required to set up login details.

If you don't want to watch the game with the US commentary, but would rather have the choice of another provider, you can easily switch your VPN to the region of your choice. In the UK, for example, the BBC have the rights to air the 2021 Super Bowl, with its own British commentary. You do, however, need to set up an account with the BBC's free iPlayer service.

If you still need some guidance, head to our user-friendly guide on how to set up a VPN for the first time.

NordVPN connecting to US server

Should I Keep My VPN After the 2021 Super Bowl?

A VPN is a cheap addition to your internet tools, and in 2021, it's practically essential for those that care about their online privacy or want to open up the internet and access content they wouldn't usually even see from their region.

When the Super Bowl ends and the last of the confetti has been swept from the field, it's well worth holding onto your subscription. If you're a big sports fan, then there's great coverage across the globe of your favorite teams and games that you could well be missing out on. Fire up a VPN, and you can have instant access to whatever you want, whenever you need. Then there's streaming content from services such as Netflix, which typically restrict the films and shows you can see dependent on location. This is due to strict licensing agreements which dictate what Netflix is allowed to show in each territory.

With a VPN though, this is no longer an issue. Netflix is aware of the VPN workaround, and tries to detect VPNs in use – not all services are successful in accessing Netflix, so check out our guide to the Best VPNs for Netflix.

There is also a huge privacy benefit to using a VPN, as they actively hide your activities and data. This means that it's very hard to snoop on anyone using a VPN, or intercept their data. In real terms, this provides immense peace of mind when using public Wi-Fi, or just don't want your service provider to keep tabs on you.

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Written by:
Jack is the Deputy Editor for Tech.co. He has over 15 years experience in publishing, having covered both consumer and business technology extensively, including both in print and online. Jack has also led on investigations on topical tech issues, from privacy to price gouging. He has a strong background in research-based content, working with organisations globally, and has also been a member of government advisory committees on tech matters.
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