New York City is the largest city in the United States. It has an estimated population of 8.5 million, and the metro area is home to 20 million residents. While it is technically called New York, New York, most refer to it as NYC. The city has many different nicknames, and there are quite a few reasons to visit the Big Apple. If you are going to visit the largest city in the United States, you’ll find there are many reasons to connect to a VPN. We’ll go into some specific reasons and examples in a moment. Please look at our list of the best VPNs for New York City before we do.
| Rank | VPN Service | Our Score | Server Locations | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | 9.8 | 160 |  |
| 2 |  | 9.4 | 87 | |
| 3 |  | 9.2 | 95 | |
| 4 |  | 9.0 | 110 | |
| 5 |  | 8.8 | 73 | |
Sports are a big deal in New York. There, you have multiple teams for just about every top-tier sport. If you are a baseball fan, you can watch the Yankees and Mets (MLB). Other sports include the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets (NBA), Giants and Jets (NFL), Islanders and Rangers (NHL), and the Red Bulls and NYCFC (MLS). As you can see, all those sports mean you have plenty to watch year-round. However, that also means you are limited to TV coverage instead of watching online if your favorite team is playing at home. That is due to sports blackout areas. Sadly, everyone gets those unless they connect to a VPN server in another city. When you do, you’ll make the blocking software think you are not local. Then, you should be able to enjoy the home games you want to see.
Many refer to New York as the city that never sleeps. That is because there is always so much to see and do there. If you are interested in Museums, the Metropolitan Museum of Art (called the Met) and the American Museum of Natural History are two of the biggest and most well-known globally. You’ll find many famous sites to see, including the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and many more. All of those sites offer their visitors WiFi, and many take advantage of anything free in New York. Unfortunately, the influx of people using those WiFi networks means those places are vulnerable to identity theft. The solution is to connect to a VPN. You need the encryption layer that one can provide to you because it will help keep you safe. The same can be said for the next heading, shows.
New York is known for iconic shows on Broadway, such as Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic and others like the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. While those theatres are historical, you’ll find they offer WiFi as well that you may access between performances. Whether it is one of those or some of the other legendary performing arts, lurkers are waiting to take your sensitive data.
No matter your reasons for visiting the Big Apple, you can see that connecting to a VPN is a good idea.
What is the best VPN for New York City?
We focused on the following criteria to determine our list of the best VPNs for NYC:
- Speed tests performed on VPN servers in New York City
- VPN network reliability to allow for long connection times
- Strong encryption levels for better privacy protection
- We selected only VPNs that do not keep usage logs
- The ability to unblock popular streaming services and live sports
- Mobile apps and support for Amazon Firestick devices
Without further delay, here is a list of the best VPN services for New York:
1. ExpressVPN – best VPN with New York City IP Address
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ExpressVPN tops our list as the best VPN choice while in New York City. That’s because it offers multiple servers in the city and area. The closer the server is, the less you have to worry about lag. Also, the more servers you have, the lighter the server load. Because ExpressVPN has servers in NYC and New Jersey as well, server speed while in the city is something you won’t have to worry about.
If you plan on streaming, however, connecting to a close server may not help you. Starting with New York sports, all of the top-tiered teams in the area have exclusive broadcasting contracts in the city. That means if you are a fan of these teams and used to watching them online at home, you can’t now. Fortunately, ExpressVPN can help because of its vast network and 158 other locations (we are excluding New York and New Jersey) in a total of 93 other countries. To get far enough away but not too far, we suggest connecting to a server in Washington, D.C. Then, you should be able to enjoy the games, unless they are playing a D.C. team. In which case, just choose another city.
You can say the same if you want to watch a streaming service. As popular as they are now, you can use a large one that has international libraries, or smaller region-specific options. Because of its network size, you can easily connect to a server in another country to watch old favorites or explore new ones. It is as easy as choosing another city.
No matter whether you connect to a server in another city or country, ExpressVPN has ways to help speed you up and protect your privacy as well. Starting with the next-gen protocols it offers, ExpressVPN has three of them. These include their exclusive Lightway protocol, OpenVPN, and IKEv2. Keep in mind Lightway-UDP is the fastest of those.
Other advanced features ExpressVPN offers include a kill switch, split tunneling, connect on start, and a SmartDNS feature they call MediaStreamer. If you have any trouble getting things set up, ExpressVPN has 24/7 support, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and they allow for up to five devices at the same time. All of those factors make ExpressVPN the best choice for New York City.
Want to learn more? Read our full ExpressVPN review.
2. NordVPN – dependable VPN with servers in NYC
Not surprisingly, NordVPN has servers in New York City. Their network size and speeds make it a good choice in the area. NordVPN operates more than 5200 servers worldwide, including nearly 2k in the US, spread over 15 cities. That means you can quickly and easily find a fast server to use while in the Big Apple.
In addition to the multiple servers, NordVPN offers several advanced features that you could find useful while in New York. These include auto-connect (this auto-connects to a NordVPN server whenever you switch to Wi-Fi), a kill switch (disables the internet if the VPN connection drops), split tunneling (can allow/exclude some apps for VPN usage), and more. One of the biggest factors in safety and speed has to do with the encryption protocols NordVPN uses.
These encryption protocols include NordLynx (WireGuard), IKEv2, and OpenVPN. IKEv2 is an excellent protocol, but it doesn’t work on all networks. Instead, we suggest using the NordLynx (WireGuard) protocol. While WireGuard is the newest entry into the community, its security and low encryption overhead make it the best choice to use while in New York City. For those that have questions about NordLynx or anything else, NordVPN has a 24/7 support staff, a 30-day moneyback guarantee, and the option to protect up to six devices at the same time.
Want to learn more? Read our full NordVPN review.
3. Private Internet Access – US-based VPN with local servers
Being a veteran in the VPN community, Private Internet Access has had plenty of time to build a large network of servers across the globe and is a favorite of the torrenting community. These include servers in New York and New Jersey. In fact, PIA has a staggering 30k+ servers, located in 78 countries altogether. That means they have multiple servers in every location, allowing for great speeds.
Of course, along with great speeds, Private Internet Access is a solid choice in New York City. However, that is not the only thing that makes using PIA a good idea while there. The company is highly privacy-centric and has a strict no-logs policy. Other great features include advanced split tunneling, a kill switch, an adblocker (they call it MACE), port forwarding, custom DNS options, and the next-generation protocols of WireGuard and OpenVPN.
No matter whether you want to use PIA to protect yourself or stream your favorite content while in New York City, Private Internet Access has you covered. With the use of up to ten devices at a time, a 30-day moneyback guarantee, an active community, and a 24/7 support team, you can’t go wrong with this one.
Want to learn more? Read our full Private Internet Access review.
4. CyberGhost – 400 VPN servers in New York City
With 15+ years in the community, CyberGhost has been around the block. Over the years, the team has launched more than 7500 servers, divided between 113 locations in 91 countries. That is almost half of the countries in the world, and that includes servers in New York City. When you want to get the best speeds while protecting your privacy, close servers are important.
If you’re more interested in streaming, you don’t necessarily need servers in the city. Instead, you may be better off with a close server, but not one directly in the area. That’s especially true in the case of sports blackouts. Obviously, New York City has sports teams galore. Some of them include the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, the New York Yankees, Mets, Giants, Jets, Islanders, Rangers, and more. In this case, connecting to one of the 155 servers in Washington D.C. will still give you the speed to stream and put you in the “out-of-market” status.
Of course, streaming services are huge. If you go to the CyberGhost website, they have a dropdown menu specifically for some of the top streaming options. These Include Netflix US, DE, and FR, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Youtube, and Crunchyroll. CyberGhost will work for others as well, though. If you want to torrent, CyberGhost allows that as well. with special servers dedicated for that purpose.
CyberGhost is a reasonable choice for New York City because of its strict no-logs policy, up to seven simultaneous devices, 45-day money-back guarantee, 24/7 support, and several other advanced features.
Want to learn more? Read our full CyberGhost review.
5. IPVanish – 150 servers in NYC with P2P support
Popular in the Kodi community, using IPVanish in New York City will do the job. Compared to some of the other services, it has a smaller network. With only just over 2k servers divided into 75+ locations, you’ll still get good speeds, especially in New York City. The company believes that you should be able to protect all of your devices. Because of that, IPVanish allows unlimited simultaneous connections on the same account.
The best features of IPVanish include server obfuscation (scramble), port forwarding, DNS & IPv6 leak protection, IP address cycling, internet kill switch, and more. Another way it does that is by using next-generation encryption. The protocols it uses are OpenVPN, IKEv2, and WireGuard. Of the three, WireGuard provides great security and is the fastest protocol available. When you combine those features, they can help protect you while you’re in New York City. That way, you can keep yourself safe and stream content by connecting to IPVanish while you’re in NYC.
Want to learn more? Read our full IPVanish review.
How to get a New York City (NYC) IP Address
You can connect to an ExpressVPN server in New York City to get a local IP address. Stream local content and protect your online privacy with a VPN. Simply follow our guide:
- Sign up for ExpressVPN (includes a 30-day risk-free money-back guarantee)
- You can download the latest version of the ExpressVPN from their website. Mobile users will want to get it from the Apple or Android app store. Either way, the app is free for all ExpressVPN subscribers.
- Next, you can connect to a VPN server in NYC to get a local IP address.
- If you’d like you can test the location of your IP from inside the app. Go to settings and then Help & Support –> IP Address Checker. This will verify that you have an IP address in NYC, New York.
- The ExpressVPN support team is available 24/7 via live chat and email to answer any questions you might have.
New York City VPN speed tests
Regardless of your purpose for wanting to use a VPN in NYC, you will likely want the best performing network. Here are the results of our speeds tests after connecting to a server in NEw York City for each VPN.
| VPN Service | VPN Speed | Ping | Protocol |
|---|---|---|---|
| ExpressVPN | 425 Mbps | 47 ms | Lightway |
| IPVanish | 292 Mbps | 53 ms | IKEv2 |
| CyberGhost | 289 Mbps | 52 ms | WireGuard |
| NordVPN | 212 Mbps | 44 ms | NordLynx |
| PIA | 74 Mbps | 52 ms | WireGuard |
Why do I need a VPN in New York City?
To some, the thought of using a VPN, especially in a place like New York City, sounds too technical or hard to do. While VPNs were that way before, those days are gone. The modern VPN is really easy to use and can protect you better than the old versions. One-third of all internet users connect to a VPN when using the internet. As you can guess, not everyone has the same motives. Here are some of the most common in NYC.
Streaming your favorite New York team’s games online
New York City has iconic and well-established sports teams like the Yankees, Mets, Knicks, and many more. They also have well-established broadcast partners that carry the games in the city. Of course, those agreements mean they force you to use them instead of a sports-specific app. When you connect to a VPN server in a city like Washington D.C., as we mentioned earlier, you’ll show up “out-of-market” so you can enjoy all of your favorites.
| Team Schedules | League | Season Starts | Watch on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jets & Giants | NFL | September 8 | NFL Game Pass |
| Yankees & Mets | MLB | April 1 | MLB.tv |
| Knicks & Nets | NBA | December 22 | NBA League Pass |
| Rangers & Islanders | NHL | October 12 | ESPN+ |
| NYC FC & Red Bulls | MLS | February 26 | ESPN+ |
Getting around public firewalls
Public firewalls are rampant in the city, from using the internet at the library, a significant company in Manhattan, the pizzeria on the corner, college, church, and more. If you connect to any one of those, you have to play by the network administrator’s rules. Using a VPN will stop the blocking software from limiting you. Then, the only thing you need to do is go to your favorite one.
Providing privacy protection
The most fundamental and original reason to use a VPN is to protect your privacy. Because internet usage has increased so much lately, some ISPs watch for patterns. If you are streaming without using a VPN, you let the ISP know that you are watching content online. With that information, your internet provider can “throttle” or slow down your connection to discourage you from watching during some times. Connecting to a VPN will conceal the traffic so that throttling can be the least of your worries.