Best Proxies for Streaming & Geo-Unblocking 2026
By Elena Park · 2026-04-13 · 7 min read · Use Cases
Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ block VPNs and datacenter IPs. Here are the residential and ISP proxies that still unlock in 2026.
Why VPNs fail at streaming
Streaming services maintain massive blocklists of datacenter and known VPN IPs. Residential and ISP proxies sidestep those lists entirely.
Top picks
**Bright Data Residential** — Best country coverage, premium quality. **Decodo Residential** — Cheaper at $2/GB. **NetNut ISP** — Fastest streaming throughput. **IPRoyal Royal Residential** — Budget entry at $1.75/GB.
Bandwidth math
HD streaming ≈ 3GB/hour, 4K ≈ 7GB/hour. At $2/GB, an hour of 4K Netflix costs $14 in proxy bandwidth — usually not the right tool for personal streaming.
Right use cases
Streaming geo-availability monitoring, ad verification on OTT, content licensing QA, market research. Not: bypassing your personal Netflix region long-term.
Compliance
Bypassing geo for personal use violates ToS but rarely results in legal action. Commercial monitoring is well-established legal territory.
FAQ
Will residential proxies work on Netflix?
Usually, yes. Some heavily-used residential IPs get flagged; rotating providers automatically replace them.